


Bara no Scarlet

by eveshka



Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-11 00:58:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 57
Words: 45,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15303921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eveshka/pseuds/eveshka
Summary: A long time ago there was girl who loved her brother dearly enough to spend eternity in pain to protect him, becoming the Rose Bride. And because of that, another girl decided to become a prince to save her. The girl did succeed in saving the Rose Bride, but at an unimagined price, vanishing from the world.The Rose Bride no longer, the one rescued from her chosen fate stepped out into the world in search of her prince…-----Three years have passed, but Anshii Himemiya hasn't found who she was searching for.When she returns to Ohtori, she finds the Duels have begun anew...





	1. Return

**Author's Note:**

> This is an older fic of mine, but I'm putting it here for safe keeping. I hope that you enjoy it.

        It had been three years since Anshii Himemiya had stepped outside of Othori's campus. Three long years of searching day and night for her Prince.

        Himemiya had failed to find her.

        She'd never intended to return, but a small parcel had caught up with her in her search. When she opened it, she found that it contained a silver Rose Signet and a note.  
        The handwriting had been Akio's. "I told you that you couldn’t find her."

        For a long time, she'd ignored the unwritten command to return.

        She'd put the ring on a silver chain and worn it around her neck to remind her. But that morning, just that morning, the ring had caught her eye in the mirror.  
        The dent. That tiny little dent where Touga's sword had caught Utena's ring.  
        And so she had returned to Othori.

        To find out how Akio had gotten the ring.  
   
 ------

 

            Ohtori campus was still very much as Anshii remembered it. The same rose carvings on the walls, the same iron roses on the gates. Even the trees of the old dueling forest remained in the distance behind the school.

            But what she wasn’t prepared for was the change in staff.

 

            She had walked into the office to find a redheaded man sitting at a desk. However, in her opinion, perhaps sitting was too structured a term. He was leaned back in the chair, feet propped up on the desk as he spoke to someone on the phone in a gentle yet cajoling tone. To Anshii, it sounded like a personal phone call with a girl. Being that she was looking at Touga Kiryuu, she was certain of it.

            Anshii cleared her throat politely and waited for him to notice her. When he didn’t, she cleared her throat again. When he still didn’t notice her, she reached out and picked up a book from his desk, lifting it several inches off of the surface and then dropping it loudly back on the desk with a resounding thud.

            By the time Touga had regained his composure and looked to her, Anshii was smiling at him, hands folded politely in front of her, as if she had never reached out and touched the book.

            He blinked several times before stammering something about calling the person back into the phone and hanging it up. Rising to his feet, he looked to her in surprise. “Himemiya! You’re back…! When did you return? Why?”

            Anshii almost laughed at his awkward reaction to her. She knew that with her hair down and without her glasses she was a far cry from how he remembered her, but this was almost too funny. “I arrived today.”

            “Have you seen anyone else? Did anyone know that you were coming?” He said, walking around the desk and over to her. She absently noted that he was looking at her as if seeing a memory, and not the reality in front of her. But then… Touga hadn’t ever had too firm a grasp on reality.

            Anshii shook her head, considering her words and settling on the simple truth. No need to involve them all over again. “No, and truthfully, until two days ago, I wasn’t ever coming back.”

            Touga motioned to the door, raising his hand to lightly touch her back and lead her towards the door.. “Then come with me, please. There are some who will be most pleased to see you.”

            Anshii paused for a moment, but then decided to humor him. She had time before she went to confront Akio. Why not see who it was that Touga wanted her to see?

 

            The first person Touga took her to see was a very startled Miki. For a moment, his fingers had been caught on the piano keyboard, an open chord holding in the air until the moment was broken by her gentle hello.

            He moved from the piano to her quickly, smiling in great surprise. “Himemiya! I hardly recognized you!” He stood there, looking at her, and for a moment, Anshii could see her past self reflected in his eyes. How easy it would be to just slip back into that role… She caught herself up mentally, reminding herself that she was there to find out what was going on, not to return to the past.

            Anshii smiled faintly, looking over Miki’s shoulder into the darkness of the room beyond. “You might say that someone taught me how to break the shell…”

            Surprise turned into shock within Miki and Touga’s eyes, and they both looked at her. “She did it, then.” Touga replied quietly. “But the Revolution…”

            Anshii looked to them both. But before she could answer, another voice, a woman’s came from the door. “Did you find her, then, Himemiya?”

            Juri stood in the doorway, looking at the trio quietly, eyes unreadable. Long golden curls cascaded over her shoulders, tumbling down her back, the curls even longer than Anshii had remembered them being.

            Anshii looked away, unable to hold her composure with the eyes of a woman whose fire and anger burned deep within the icy blue depths. “No.”

            “She didn’t win,” Miki said, looking to Anshii, sadly as he shook his head. “She didn’t revolutionize the world.”

            Anshii looked to Miki in confusion. “What? But… I’m no longer the Rose Bride…”

            “They’re still dueling. There’s a new Rose Bride.”

            After Miki’s words came a silence as thick as the sudden cloying scent of roses that crashed through the room. Anshii vaguely recognized the scent, and in that silence, she drew on her old powers, those that had once gotten her named as a witch, and ran from the room, anger building a cold fire within her.

            Juri looked quietly to Miki and Touga. “So. It starts again.”


	2. Discovery

            Student after student stopped in shock as Anshii ran through the halls of Ohtori, heading towards where she knew Akio was waiting for her. For the most part, she ignored them, simply side-stepping them as she ran towards the center of the campus, towards the Rose Tower.

            A blonde female in a yellow ensemble stepped out in front of her, and Anshii found nowhere to sidestep, instead having to come to a stop and glare at the person who had gotten her way. Nanami Kiryuu.

            The smile that plastered itself across the perfectly made-up lips was enough to turn Anshii’s stomach. To say that Nanami hadn’t changed was to give voice to a serious understatement. If anything, the younger sister of Touga Kiryuu had only gotten worse. “Why, Himemiya! What a delightful surprise! Have you finally decided to give up on that foolish search and return to us?”

            Anshii had never liked Nanami very much, and had been very glad that Utena had defeated her before she’d even gotten a chance to become dangerous. Even so, she was still in Anshii’s way. “You’re in my way.”

            Feigned innocence smoothed over the all-too false smile. “What could you possibly do about it?”

            For a moment, Anshii faltered. But resolve flooded over her, and her eyes narrowed. “You haven’t the faintest idea. You’re in my way. Move. Now.”

            Nanami folded her arms and simply looked at Anshii. It was all too clear that the slender blonde wasn’t going to move out of the way.

            Anshii sighed softly. She truly didn’t understand why some people refused to be nice. Taking a deep breath, she narrowed her eyes and looked harder at Nanami. “Move.” This time, it wasn’t a gentle request.

            Nanami made her mistake then. She reached out, as if to push Anshii, and before she could even touch the dark-skinned girl, a slim brown hand shot out, the sharp impact of back of hand against cheek sending the blonde girl down to the floor.

            As Nanami sank to her knees, holding her cheek in shock, Anshii stepped around her and paused. “You should have moved, Nanami.” The voice was hardly the gentle and shy voice that had whispered from the Rose Bride. Blue eyes snapped up to the long violet hair, and as she watched Anshii walk towards the door that led to the elevator room, Nanami felt a chill fall over her and she shivered.

            She was still sitting on the floor when Naiko found her.

 

            The elevator door shut and Anshii leaned against the wall and sighed. She hadn’t wanted to hit Nanami, but the girl hadn’t left her much of a choice. She rested there for a moment before she stood straight and neared the doors. The elevator gave a little lurch as it passed the access to the upper levels of the Rose Tower, the levels where she had once lived with Utena and Akio.

            When the doors opened, she stepped out into the foyer, moving swiftly to the study where she had little doubts she would find Akio.

            The doors to the study opened before she touched them, as if he had been expecting her, and she walked in, green eyes casting about the room. Akio was sitting at his desk, his hair a little longer, his face a little thinner. He didn’t look up as she approached the desk, only continued to write what she knew was a letter from the End of the World.

            “You’re late, Anshii.”

            “How did you get the ring, Akio?” Anshii countered, the chill unmistakable in her voice.

            He signed the letter, folded it, and only then looked up to her. “Oh. You got it then. I thought perhaps it hadn’t found you.”

            Green fire flickered within Anshii’s eyes, and she glared at her brother. “How did you get the ring, Akio?”

            He ran his fingers through his hair, looking at her arrogantly. “It was given to me.” He stood, pushing the chair back and setting the letter on the desk. He beckoned to someone behind Anshii, and the former Rose Bride turned to see a face that she had long yearned to see.

            Long hair the color of a new pink rosebud cascaded over thin shoulders, tumbling down to the thin waist. Blue eyes smiled gently as pink lips curled. “Hello, you must be Akio-san’s sister.”

            Anshii froze. Her voice was soft, and she was wearing a skirt. That wasn’t her Utena. What sort of a trick was this? She watched as Akio stepped up behind the girl and rested his hands on her shoulders. “Anshii… should you be curious, allow me to introduce you to Ayomi. Ayomi, this is my sister Anshii.”

            The girl who looked so very much like Utena smiled to Anshii. “I’m pleased to finally meet you, Anshii.”

            “Akio, explain this,” Anshii started, looking at her brother. “Why is it that she looks-“

            Akio interrupted her smoothly. “Anshii, Ayomi is the Rose Bride. You know what you must do should you desire the answer to that question.”

            The former Rose Bride stood in stunned shock as she watched her brother gently turn the current Rose Bride and leave the room.


	3. Council

           The Rose Council was seated at the table inlaid with the rose of Ohtori campus. Two males and two females all sat quietly with teacups before them, a slender pink haired female serving them tea.

            The black-haired male moved to break the silence as the final cup was filled. “Thank you, Ayomi. You may go.”

            Ayomi nodded, turning quietly and leaving the room and the four at the table.

            “Pathetic. She has no thought in her head of her own,” said the redheaded female as she picked up her teacup and contemplated the tea within it.

            “That is precisely why she is the Rose Bride, Mariko. And it is why we must duel to see who has the power to command her,” the black-haired male replied.

            “Command her…” echoed the short-haired female. It was rumored that her dark brown hair was once long, but she had cut it short when she’d become a duelist. “Somehow… I’m not so sure that’s fair, Keuske.”

            “Fair or not, it is the way of things, and the only way the Rose Bride knows. Try as you might, you can’t change that, Rika,” the black-haired male named Keuske replied.

            “There’s a new letter,” interposed the blonde male, who had remained silent through the entire discussion. He held up the envelope, offering it across the table to Keuske. “As the current Champion, you read it.”

            Shoulder-length black hair fell forward as Keuske reached for the letter, and he pushed his hair back as he sat back in the chair. He looked at the seal on the envelope before breaking it and opening the flap to pull out the letter within. He scanned it for a moment, then paused and read it aloud. “A new duelist has arrived to Ohtori. Expect difficulties. The next duel should take place before the passing of the new moon.”

            “Difficulties? What is End of the World saying? Is this new duelist powerful?” Mariko mused before she took a sip of tea.

            “The new moon is two weeks away. I wonder if the new duelist will turn up before then…” Rika said, taking the letter from Keuske and scanning it herself.

            “We should figure out who arrived on campus recently. Perhaps a new student is the duelist.” The blue eyes of the blonde looked over to Mariko. “You’re in a position to find that information for us, aren’t you?”

            The red ponytail swung back and forth as she nodded. “I should be able to have the information in a day, Izumi.”

            The blonde nodded, looking off to the shadows where he knew that the Rose Bride waited quietly. “The sooner you have the information, the sooner we can plan. We should adjourn. Our meeting is keeping the Rose Bride from attending to the Rose Garden, and we all know how End of the World feels about the Rose Garden.”

            The four stood, each lifting almost-empty teacups in a toast. In one voice, they repeated the words that had been the closing phrase to the initial letters they had received. “To the Absolute Revolution!”

 

            The Rose Garden was the only place on Ohtori’s campus where one could find the rare violet rose, which gave off the scent that everyone associated with the campus. It was against the school rules to do the plants any harm, including picking a live blossom or leaf. Anshii had been so careful when she had been the Rose Bride, always caring for the roses as if they were a part of her. Indeed, they almost were, for she was one of the few who knew the name of the flower. The Rose of Dios only bloomed in Ohtori’s campus, on the very spot where she had sealed her brother’s powers away so very long ago.

            She stood in the Rose Garden, looking at the roses the color of his hair, remembering the events, recalling the anguish, the pain that he had felt, knowing that he would die in vain efforts to rescue princesses who didn’t know any better. He was a prince; it was his duty to rescue princesses. And she was a witch, doomed never to be a princess.

            She loved her brother, and every time she saw him sacrifice a part of himself, she got angrier and angrier that the princesses never learned, just relied on him to rescue them. Let them learn, she had told him. But he couldn’t ignore their cries.

            Finally, the one day that she had found him beaten and bloody, yet called to rescue another twit of a princess, she decided that she had had enough. She rescued her brother, hiding him in a barn, healing his wounds with her powers and finally sealing a part of him away so that he couldn’t go to the aid of the princesses.

            But the people had come to expect his assistance, and when they learned what she had done, they attacked her. She had taken each sword willingly, for she could not die, and what was the pain of a sword when she had saved her brother’s life?

            She hadn’t expected him to turn on her, to want to reclaim his powers. Not in the way that he had.

 

            A voice broke her reverie, words soft and gentle. “You came to look at the roses?”

            Anshii turned to see the girl who was not Utena standing there. “Oh… yes. I used to like the roses very much when I was a student.”

            Pale pink lips curled. “The roses are nice. They don’t ask anything of you, and are pleased with whatever you give them.” Blue eyes settled on the ring around Anshii’s neck, and for a moment, it felt as if a ghost were in the garden. The girl Ayomi frowned slightly, and then turned away. “Excuse me. I’m needed elsewhere…”

            As she watched the other leave, Anshii reached up and fingered the ring. Duelist… her?


	4. Decision

            Miki had long given up the stopwatch, but he felt the pressing need to mark time again. Moments were coming once more, and he felt a strange stirring within him. He surmised that it had something to do with Anshii Himemiya’s return, and as he loitered outside the Kendo Hall, he mused on the feelings.

            A figure appeared at his shoulder, a light touch on his arm, and he turned to touch Juri gently on her arm in return. It was the only display of affection that she would allow in public. Of course, the students knew, it was hard not to see it in his eyes. However…

            She smiled faintly to him, and then they moved to walk down the hall towards the exit. “I have to wonder what her return will mean. She will find out…”

            “She probably has. But is she capable…?” Miki returned thoughtfully. “I feel that something will happen… but what it might be, I don’t know.”

            “We can only wait and see. If she makes that choice… it could well mean Revolution. She learned much from Utena… and she has her own powers as well. Should the Sword of Dios fall into her hands… would Dios accept her?”

            “The legend says that she cannot become a princess,” Miki countered. “She is the sister of the Prince. Dios’ sister, at my guess.”

            They stepped out into the sunlight, and Juri paused to look up to the sky. “I’d say you’re probably right. But what happens if she gets to the Castle?”

            “Dios awakens. That part, we know. But what will happen to the Rose Bride…?” Miki wondered as they walked across the campus to the hall that housed faculty members.

            Juri shook her head. “It’s best not to think those things. She lives for now. In that, she was lucky.”

            “So it _is_ her, then.” The voice was chilled, but not unkind. Anshii walked up to the two, nodding slowly. “I thought it was. Akio almost confirmed it when he told me that she was the Rose Bride and to find the answer, I knew what I’d have to do.”

            Juri and Miki exchanged a glance. Juri turned to Anshii and folded her arms. “Can you even hold a sword?”

            Anshii paused, remembering. She’d held a sword, yes, and she’d stabbed Utena in the back with it. She’d told Utena that she could never be her prince because Utena was a girl. She’d made such a mistake. Taking a deep breath, she nodded to Juri. “I’ve used a sword before… but my abilities are limited. Would… would you be willing to instruct me?”

            Juri sighed and shook her head. “I see little choice in the matter, but will you truly become a Duelist, Anshii? You, of all people, cannot really wish to re-enter that. What happens if you win? Will the Sword of Dios be wielded by one who used to call it forth?”

            Anshii shook her head. “I don’t know… but there was a mistake that I made. I had the chance to make a choice, and I chose badly. Now, I have to make it up to her. She swore to save me, and she did. But I failed her. I failed her.”

            She reached up and caught the ring on the chain around her neck, feeling the cool metal. To become what the ring signified… to enter the game that Akio played… would she be the one standing under the castle at the end? Would she be the one standing under the creation of her own spell from years ago? She had no way of knowing other than to try. “I can only try, Juri. I can only try.”

 

            Trying began the very next day, and proved to Anshii that while she had the ability to hold the sword, she had very little skill. It was, to say the least, extremely distressing for the former Rose Bride. She had a reason and a will to fight, unlike Utena… and yet, she had not remotely half the ability. None of her powers could have possibly assisted her in a test of physical skill… and she was beginning to doubt herself.

            “Juri… I’m not sure I can do this…” Anshii admitted quietly, head bowed over the sword that Juri had loaned her.

            “You haven’t decided to do this,” Juri countered, voice harsh. “Nothing could stop Utena from trying to save you… and yet, you’re here, head down, saying that you can’t.”

            Anshii looked at the floor. She wasn’t trying, was she? She was standing there, playacting at this. “You’re right,” she whispered.

            “Is she worth it to you?” Juri asked, voice oddly gentle.

            For a moment, Utena’s face flashed before Anshii’s eyes in that smile she offered just hours before Anshii had tried to throw herself off of the top of the Rose Tower. With a silent nod, Anshii reached up and caught the ring in her hand, giving it a sharp tug, feeling the chain give way and break. As the chain fell unheeded to the ground, she took the Duelist ring and regarded it for a moment. Utena’s ring. The ring that had brought Utena to this campus, and now had brought Anshii back. Without a second thought, she slid the ring onto her finger.

           


	5. Duelist

            The instant that Anshii put the ring on her finger, she understood. This was the real ring, not a simple bit of metal crafted to look like the Ring of Dios and infused with enough power to open the Gate. This was the ring that held the key to everything, the powers that she herself had sealed away. This was the ring that could awaken Dios.

            The ring that Dios had given Utena.

            As she looked at the ring on her finger, there was a flare of power, and a feeling not unlike when she prepared for a Duel. The scent of roses enveloped her, and for a moment, she was unaware of anything other than that.

            As Juri watched, the power flared around Anshii, and she knew that the former Rose Bride was serious now in her desire to learn the sword. She watched, admiring Anshii’s courage: courage that she herself could never have. She had so many doubts and misgivings about herself that it was little wonder that she lost to Utena as fast as she had. She only wished she’d had the courage to support Utena after that. She’d heard once, that Anshii had wished Utena luck against Saionji while she was the Rose Bride. She’d wondered why. Now, standing here, watching the power manifest around the once-shy figure, she knew. If you believed in it enough, it was worth fighting for.

 

            “Hey, Anshii… when are we going to have tea again? It’s been so long…”

 

            Anshii’s eyes snapped open at Utena’s voice, but she only saw Juri standing there with her practice sword in hand. Juri, for all her private musings, simply raised an eyebrow and nodded her head to Anshii as if to indicate that Anshii was to begin.

            The attack came quickly, practice sword lifting in a swift slice towards Juri’s leg. The golden-blonde barely had enough time to move out of the way, a detached part of her mind noting that Anshii was now illustrating some skill with a blade.

            “You’re better. Good; you stand a chance. Now, remember: it means little to harm your opponent. You only have to knock the rose from their chest.”

            Anshii nodded, lifting her attack to chest-range, and pressing her advantages as she saw them. Her brow was creased, and she was focused on her attack, so did not see the point of Juri’s practice blade slip in from underneath.

            Juri smiled grimly as her blade made contact with Anshii just where the rose would have been. “What mistake did you make?”

            Anshii looked blankly at the sword-point, then looked to Juri. “I didn’t see it coming.” Embarrassment flushed across her cheeks. “I was too bent on attacking.”

            Her instructor nodded. “You have to remain aware of your opponent’s blade even as you attack. Had this been a Duel, you would have lost.” She lowered the practice blade, looking to the door where Miki was standing with several white bento boxes. “Miki has brought lunch. Shall we?”

 

            The trio ate companionably, which was something that none of them had probably ever considered. Before, Anshii had been nothing more than decoration at meals, a small distraction to say the least. But now, she was sitting there, eating like she was an old friend. They touched on pleasantries, Miki and Juri explaining how they’d become instructors under Akio’s insistance. Touga had stayed on as a Counselor, and only Saionji had refused to return. He, according to Juri, had made peace with Wakaba, and they were happily dating and living almost normal lives in the nearby town.

            “I am glad that everyone is happy… and yet, it disturbs me that Akio has somehow managed to steal Utena. He calls her Ayomi…” She shivered. “And she reminds me of what I was before… when I was the Rose Bride.”

            Juri nodded as she swallowed her mouthful of water. “She’s a final-year student here… and she does her studies well… but beyond that, she spends her time either in the Rose Tower, or tending the roses in the Rose Garden.”

            “She’s good at anything she does… but it takes a great many people to convince her to do anything at all. In my class, she simply sits and smiles… like a doll that someone’s put in a window. Yet… when I call on her to explain a theory, or to illustrate a musical style, her talent with the piano shows. She’s even familiar with the old song I wrote.”

            Anshii pondered. “Which means possibly not all of Utena is sealed away. Perhaps if I could but win a Duel… perhaps that could start breaking the hold Akio has over her. I have to win a Duel. I have to get her out of the Rose Tower. No matter who she becomes… I have to save her from him.”

            Juri frowned. “Anshii… you think that he is that bad?”

            Anshii sighed and set down her teacup. “Juri, Miki… I think we should call Touga in, and possibly Nanami too. I think it’s time you truly learned why all of this is happening.”


	6. Revelations

            “A long time ago, so long now that those alive today only dimly recall a myth or legend about it, there was a handsome Prince and his younger sister. Ironically, while he was a Prince, she could not be a Princess, for she was possessed of powers that marked her as a witch.”

            Anshii paused in her storytelling, looking at the faces of those who sat at the table with her. Juri, Miki, Touga… they looked vaguely familiar with the story. Nanami looked irritated and bored. She wasn’t surprised that Nanami wasn’t interested in the story, but she was determined that she’d only tell it once.

            “The Prince and his sister traveled the world, the Prince coming to the aid of every Princess in need, every Princess who called.” As she spoke, memories flickered across her eyes, and she saw everything in vivid color, as if it had only been yesterday.

“He was a loving but foolish Prince, often exhausting himself rescuing the Princesses who never learned their lesson.” She laughed quietly, spreading her hands.

“And still, his sister loved him and supported him, all the while hating the Princesses for what they were, for the attentions they got from her brother. She hated them all the more because she could not become a Princess. No matter how desperately she desired it, she could not give away the powers she had.”

            Nanami played with a puddle of water that an ice cube had made on the table while the others listened. She didn’t understand why she had to be here, listening to that woman talk. Everyone else seemed so attentive; it made her want to throw water on everyone, especially Anshii. Couldn’t they see that woman wasn’t worth their time?

            “So she watched her brother nearly kill himself over and over to rescue these Princesses, healing him as she could, trying to keep him alive, when everything seemed bent on destroying him,” Anshii continued, seemingly unaware of Nanami’s traitorous thoughts.

            The faintest wisp of a smile crossed Juri’s lips as the words brought an unbidden but not unwelcome face to her memory.

            “And one day, when her brother had rescued not one but two Princesses, he was weak and needed rest, but the people called to him again. Another Princess needed aid. His sister stood up, and told them that her brother was tired, and needed rest. The people of the town didn’t believe her, and she was forced to flee the town with her brother.”

Again, she could smell the hay in the barn; see the injuries her brother had suffered. The villagers yelled in the distance. She closed her eyes briefly to shut it all out. “In order to protect him, she used her powers to grant him sleep… the kind of sleep which is only brought on by powers which she had.”

            Silence fell across the group, and Miki’s blue eyes looked to Anshii’s green ones. “How long did he sleep, Anshii?”

            Anshii’s voice was quiet and wistful when she replied, looking to Miki with sad eyes. “He sleeps still in the castle that exists outside of time.”

            For a long time, no-one spoke. Each was lost in his or her own private thoughts, secret musings that none felt necessary to share. Finally, Nanami looked over with annoyance and opened her mouth. “And just what was the point of you telling that story?”

            Green eyes flared with anger as Anshii looked at the blonde. “Because I was the one who sealed a part of my brother Dios away in that castle. All of that was my doing.” She pointed angrily to the ring on Nanami’s hand. “Your precious ring was crafted by my hand in an effort to prevent the monster that my brother has become from unleashing horror on this world!”

            Nanami looked disbelievingly at Anshii. Her voice grew haughty as she spoke, her clear disdain for Anshii evident. “So you’re telling us that you’re the witch in the legend? You were the Rose Bride. All you did was sacrifice yourself endlessly.”

            To everyone’s surprise, Anshii nodded. “Yes. The Rose Bride is the one who sacrifices herself for others around her. She protects those she is connected to, obeys them, devotes herself to them. But she alone is the key. And now, Utena is the Rose Bride. Even though… even though I betrayed her in the end, she still chose to protect me from Akio.”

            “Betrayed her…?” Juri asked, blue eyes searching Anshii. So there was more to it. Juri had known that something had happened between Anshii and Utena, but she hadn’t been able to decide what.

            A wash of pain and shame crashed over the former Rose Bride. “I brought forth another sword, one that should never be wielded. With it, I stabbed Utena and took the Sword of Dios from her and gave it to Akio.”


	7. Challenge

            “There was only one person to arrive at the school within the past week.” Mariko began the meeting promptly and with little fanfare. She tossed her head, red ponytail swishing back and forth. “Her name is Anshii Himemiya. She is Chairman Akio Himemiya’s sister, and none other than the former Rose Bride.”

            “Former Rose Bride? Can she Duel?” Izumi echoed.

            “She has a ring. Perhaps End of the World is testing us. We must hold our resolve and not let this catch us unaware.” Keuske replied, motioning to the current Rose Bride to fill his tea.

            Ayomi reached out and took the teacup delicately, inspecting it for cracks or damage before moving to fill it with the tea that only the Rose Council drank. It was made from the very petals of the Rose of Dios, harvested just after the prime of the blossom. The result was a very subtle and extremely fragrant dark red tea.

            She was just putting the teacup back on the saucer when the door to the Council room was unceremoniously thrown open to reveal a woman in a scarlet dueling uniform with long violet hair.

 

Anshii walked into the Council room looking far more brave than she felt. Truth be told, she’d almost rather been back in the grip of the swords than to be walking into a Council meeting to deliver her challenge.

Almost.

            Izumi rose to his feet smoothly, a false smile plastering itself on his face. “Why… Anshii Himemiya. What a pleasure to have the former Rose Bride pay us a visit. Whatever can we do for you?”

            She didn’t need her abilities to see who the current Champion was. He had rested his hand on the small of Ayomi’s back the moment he’d seen Anshii. With a firmness that she knew Utena would be proud of, she squared her shoulders and looked at the black-haired student. “I challenge you to a Duel within the Laws of the Rose Seal. Tonight, in the Dueling Arena.”

            Ayomi dropped the teapot, the ceramic shattering on impact with the floor, tea spilling into a puddle that was ominously reminiscent of blood. Keuske simply nodded to Anshii, ignoring the Rose Bride’s efforts to clean the splash of tea off of his pants leg.

            “Very well, Anshii Himemiya. I will be awaiting your arrival.” He nodded almost cordially. “Until this evening, then.”

            She recognized the dismissal, but wouldn’t give him the honor. “I look forward to the Duel.” She turned her gaze to the Rose Bride, who was starting to collect the fragments of ceramic. “Be careful; those edges will be sharp.”

            Blue eyes blinked curiously to Anshii, and Ayomi merely nodded before returning to her task.

            When Anshii left the chamber, she had the strangest feeling that Akio had watched the entire event.

 

            Juri met Anshii outside the Rose Tower. “You’re going to have difficulty beating him. We’ll have to go over a few more things before the Duel… and you have to relax. You can’t fight with your hands shaking like that.”

            Anshii looked at her hands, only just noticing how badly they were shaking, and suddenly realizing that her entire body was trembling. “I… didn’t know I was shaking like this. All of a sudden I’m nervous, and I can’t understand why.”

            They walked down the hallway towards Juri’s office and the practice hall beyond. “It’s the first time you’ve been a participant in a Duel. You know what is riding on your win.”

            “And I also know what happens if I lose,” Anshii’s voice was rueful. “I’ll have to challenge again.”

            Juri pushed open the doors to the practice hall. “Well, let’s get you warmed up and rework some of your lessons so that you don’t have to reissue that challenge.”

 

            An hour later, Anshii was not a happy camper to say the least. They’d gone through several lessons, and only once had Anshii managed to come close to where Juri had indicated she’d worn the rose.

            Juri hung her towel around her neck and looked at Anshii. “You need to relax. You’re so busy thinking about what you’re going to do that you get behind your thoughts. You have to think ahead of your opponent’s sword, or you’ll lose momentum and falter.”

            Anshii shook her head. “I just can’t get used to the sword. Not after…” her voice trailed off, and she flushed.

            A gentle hand rested on Anshii’s shoulder for a moment. “It’s in the past, Anshii. Let it go or it will destroy both you and Utena.”

            Anshii looked to Juri for a moment and nodded slowly. “I’m trying. But if I hadn’t…”

            Juri shook her head moving her hand to run her fingers through now-unruly curls. “It is always easy to fall back on the word ‘if.’ But ‘if’ is intangible. You did it, it happened, and now you are back to fix what went wrong. Focus on that. Focus on getting her back.” She glanced over at the clock on the wall above the door to her office. “You’d better go shower and get ready. Don’t forget the sword.”

            Anshii nodded and hurried out of the practice hall, clutching the sword that Juri had lent her. Miki met Juri at the door to her office. “Think she has a chance, Juri?”

            Juri shook her head. “I don’t know. She has to stop blaming herself first.” She shook her head slowly, sighing. “You know, Miki… the last time I lent one of my swords out, Utena broke it trying to reclaim Anshii.”

            Miki eyed Juri. “Did you loan it to her on purpose?”

            Juri’s lips curled slightly. “Perhaps.” _There are no such things as miracles…_


	8. Duelist

            The gate to the Dueling Arena was closed, as Anshii had expected. She paused for a moment, and then placed her hand on the handle, allowing the ring to do its duty and announce her. There was a cold sensation on her hand, and then, as she stepped back from the gate, it shifted, water spilling around her.

            She had not seen the gate open for Utena, so had not known how impressive it actually was. She watched in silent awe as the rose formed itself above the gate and the ironwork slid apart to reveal the entrance.

            Once it was complete, she paused for several moments, looking at the entrance before finally stepping through.

 

            The spiral stairs awaited her, and she walked up them, hand clenched around the hilt of the sword that Juri had loaned her. How many times had she stood at the top, waiting for Utena to climb the stairs? She shook her head and continued to climb the stairs, forcing herself into the present.

 

            At last, she was at the top, and the sight of Ayomi in the guise of the Rose Bride made her heart constrict. Long pink hair was pinned back by a golden crown, a mockery of the princess that the Rose Bride could never be. She’d seen Utena in that white gown before; lying on the floor of the castle with blood spilling around her. But the eyes of the Bride were not Utena’s, and it was not Utena’s voice, which spoke the all-too familiar words: “Should this rose be knocked from your chest, you lose the Duel.”

            Anshii looked at her own rose, a deep violet rose that she never should have seen, never imagined seeing… a flash of power caught her attention, and she looked up to see the Rose Bride arched backwards with the Sword of Dios rising from her heart. Her own heart clenched painfully at the memory.

            As she watched, Keuske took the Sword in his hands, claiming it in the name of the absolute power, and Anshii knew that the duel was beginning.

 

            He came at her before she realized it, and she only barely managed to defend the rose perched on her chest before she spun, blocked again, and felt the shock of blades meeting ring through her arms. Had Juri fought this hard? It was making her arms hurt, and she knew that she was on the defensive. At this rate, she’d lose before she could try.

            Her eyes narrowed and she forced herself to focus. Farther and farther backwards he was forcing her, and to remain on the defensive was akin to suicide. She saw an opening and took it, forcing him backwards, finally making him defend against her attack. His sword suddenly flashed up, and she moved for the defense, but the Sword of Dios ripped Juri’s blade from her hand. The blade spun as it was flung, and landed with a clatter, spinning to a halt some distance to her right.

            Anshii panicked for a moment, and then darted for her sword, side-stepping the incoming attack from Keuske, protecting her rose at all costs. She fled, running towards her sword, and the moment her fingers touched the hilt of her sword, she felt it.

            Power ripped down from the castle, a touch that she hadn’t felt in longer than she cared to think. The scent of roses filled her very existence, and she felt herself frozen in shock. Dios. It was Dios’ touch… but she wasn’t a princess… she was a witch! He couldn’t come to her aid… he-!

 

            The touch and scent were suddenly gone, the moment shattered and dissipating like the violet rosepetals that blew along the wind.

            She’d lost the Duel.

 

            The bells chimed, signifying the end, and she stood there, sword in hand, lost in more ways than just the one. Keuske drew the Rose Bride to him, the Sword vanishing. “You are not a Duelist, Anshii Himemiya. Go home. Do not involve yourself in this. You are free of it.”

 

            Later, Anshii would have no recollection of leaving the arena. She would not recall stumbling towards the steps without Juri’s sword, only to be called back by the Rose Bride. She would not remember the soft blue eyes smiling serenely as the mirror image of Utena handed her the sword.

            She would not remember the quiet thank you she gave to the Rose Bride, nor the dismissal of those thanks that came from the Champion.

            She would only remember the endless tears that fell down her cheeks as she fled the Rose Gate, heading for the fencing hall.

            And that would be how Juri and Miki found Anshii in the morning, sitting on the floor of the fencing hall, the sword on the floor in front of her with her face in her hands, still sobbing.

 

            In the Rose Tower, Akio sipped his glass of wine, lips curled in dark amusement.

 

            High above, in a darkness that not even Akio could penetrate, a teardrop fell.


	9. Loss

            She’d lost the Duel.

            She’d failed.

            She sat in the chair that Juri had pulled up for her, her tears still trailing down her cheeks. She felt lethargic, as if she were under a vast amount of water, looking up through the surface at a distorted world, drowning and unwilling to fight.

            A hand touched her shoulder. “Hime… Anshii…” Miki started awkwardly, but then silently offered her a tissue. He didn’t know what to say, didn’t know how to give her sympathy. He wasn’t even sure that she wanted it.

            She took the tissue without looking up, burying her face in it and sobbing. “I failed… I failed her… again… I never should have believed in any of it… I’m still nothing more than a doll…”

            Juri had remained silent until Anshii’s last comment. “Enough of that. Will you throw away everything that she did for you? Will you take her sacrifice as worthless? She didn’t want to fight, but you were important to her, and so she fought.” Anger crackled in Juri’s eyes, and the cold blue depths threatened to swallow Anshii as she looked to them.

            “But… I…” Anshii tried before Juri cut her off with an impatient flick of her hair as the fencing instructor turned away.

            “But nothing. You didn’t see her when she lost to Kiryuu. You weren’t allowed to see what it did to her.”

            A cold shock of memory flashed in Anshii’s mind. A slap, inadvertent, a startled look, a glass of water. She winced, wrapping her arms around herself. “But I knew… I knew it all… and I didn’t believe…”

            Juri turned and knelt to look at Anshii, blue eyes gone gentle. Her voice was a soft whisper when she spoke. “And yet, knowing what you do, will you still not believe?”

            Anshii looked to Juri with pain in her eyes. “Dios came. He came to me. Just as he did for Utena. He came down from the castle… but I’m a witch. He can’t help me. I can never be a Princess…”

            Miki was the one who spoke, in a soft voice that recalled something shining from his memory. “Anshii… what if… what if you were never a witch?”

            Startled, she turned her head to look at him, long hair spilling over one shoulder. Tear-filled eyes blinked at him in confusion. “What do you mean? I am a witch!”

            Juri raised her eyebrow at Miki, but he continued. “What if the other Princesses were jealous of you? What if they called you a witch because you were stronger and more beautiful than they were? What if they said it to drive the two of you apart?”

            The idea was completely alien to Anshii. The hint of a smile flickered around Juri’s lips as she began to see where Miki was going. True or not, his words would have the intended effect.

            Miki started to pace as he spoke. “What if you were a Princess? Being the sister of a Prince, it would make sense that you were, yourself, a Princess. But because the others coveted your brother, they saw you as an obstacle. And if that were the case, would they not take whatever action necessary to get you out of the way?”

            Anshii blinked. Her tears had stopped, and Juri was pleased to see the glimmer of light in the green eyes. “They would have done anything to get to him… they’d willingly put themselves in such danger… just so that he would come rescue them… Oh, what a fool I was!” Again, she buried her face in her hands.

            Juri stood and walked to the nearby desk. She reached out and picked up the sword. When she walked back to Anshii, she inverted the blade, and held it out to Anshii, hilt first. “You’ll need this.”

            Anshii looked up, first to the sword, and then to Juri. A hundred thoughts went through her mind, things to say, things to do. But she only did one: she took the sword in her hands.

            “Believe in yourself, Anshii. Dios will come and you will win,” Juri said as she released the sword.

            The bell sounded to indicate the first classes of the day were to start, and all three looked towards the door. Miki gave a guilty start and headed for the door. “Oh no! I didn’t unlock the music room… they’ll be waiting!”

            Juri pursed her lips in amusement, shaking her head as she watched Miki sprint for the music room. “That boy… sometimes I wonder. But, regardless, you should go and rest, Anshii. Come find me after lunch; I only have morning classes today. We’ll practice some more before you challenge Keuseke.”

            Anshii nodded and stood, holding the sword carefully.  _I’ll challenge him today, after practice_ , she thought.  _And this time, I will win_.


	10. Resolution

            “The witch can’t duel.”

            The Council members turned to look at Keuske as he walked into the room, Ayomi directly behind him. Various expressions of relief and confusion rippled through the others before Mariko ventured a question.

            “So End of the World was wrong? There isn’t another Duelist?”

            Izumi made a soft sound that was suspiciously like a snort. “End of the World is never wrong.”

            Keuske draped himself in his chair and waved Ayomi off towards the tea cart. Obediently, the Rose Bride went to prepare tea. “Dios himself came down to hold the witch for me. She is not a Duelist.”

            Mariko leaned forward, long red ponytail sweeping across her shoulder. “You saw him? You saw Dios?” There was undisguised excitement in her voice. If it was true, if he had seen Dios himself, then it was worth her while. She’d challenge Keuske and win.

            Keuske eyed Mariko. He knew that she would be a formidable opponent should she decide to fight him. But, still, he would not lie. “Yes, I saw him. I saw him descend from the castle in the sky with arms wide. And he caught the witch and held her there for me to defeat.”

            “It seems strange that the Chairman’s own sister cannot duel,” Rika said quietly, watching Ayomi. “If she is the witch, and if the old legend is true… is Akio somehow involved? Is the Chairman himself possibly End of the World?”

            Izumi burst into laughter at Rika’s musings. “Him? End of the World? Chairman Himemiya has nothing more in his head than who he will try to bed tonight. He blackmailed his way into the Ohtori family, and now poor Kanae sleeps alone while her precious Akio sleeps with every woman he can! End of the World indeed!”

            Ayomi returned with the tea, and served everyone, Keuske first. When she served Rika, the girl thanked her quietly, but Ayomi made no reply, nor did she glance to the brunette.

            Keuske gave Ayomi leave to tend the Rose Garden, and Rika watched the girl for any sign of anticipation at tending the roses. There was none. It was as if nothing affected the Rose Bride.

 

            The Rose Bride, on the other hand, was startled when she walked into the Rose Garden and found someone tending the roses. She stood for a moment, watching the other woman as she moved along the bushes, noticing the care that was taken with each blossom. For the second time since she awoke to find herself in the school sick ward, she spoke before someone asked her a question. “You’re here again.”

            Anshii looked over to the other girl. “Yes. I came to think. The roses have always helped me to think.” She paused as she came across the roses she had used before, the roses which once had partnered the Duelists that Utena had fought. “Miki… Juri… Saionji… Touga… Nanami…” She shook her head slowly, and stopped when she came to the soft pink rosebush, the gentle pink that had been Utena’s rose. Anshii almost didn’t dare touch the blossom that perched atop the bush. For some reason, she felt as if she wasn’t worthy of the flower. Not after she had betrayed the only person who had ever believed in her. Several moments passed before she lightly rested her fingers on the bloom and whispered the name of the one she hadn’t found. “Utena…”

            A chill touched the Rose Bride, and she shivered. Green eyes flickered to her curiously. “Are you cold?”

            Ayomi shook her head. “I am fine. But for a moment… something seemed…” The all-too-familiar voice trailed off.

            “Yes?” Anshii prompted, her heart in her throat. Did she remember? Was it the betrayal that had done this? Was all of this truly her fault?

            The Rose Bride smiled, and it was the patent detached smile once more. “Will you Duel again?”

            Anshii blinked, startled by the sudden change, even as she reflected that she had often done the same to a question the either couldn’t or wouldn’t answer. “Yes. I must.”

            Pale hands picked up the empty watering can and Ayomi moved towards the door of the Rose Garden. “The violet rose is not for you. You cannot win if you wear it.”

            Anshii looked to the Rose Bride, curious. “What color, then, should I wear?”

            The Rose Bride’s eyes softened in an expression that almost broke Anshii’s resolve. Sadness tinged the soft blue, but only for a moment. “You must not wear the color of the Prince.” And with that, she stepped out of the Rose Garden, watering can in hand.

             _The color of the Prince…?_  Anshii wondered, looking at the pink rose under her fingertips. Pink was Utena’s color… and Utena was her Prince… but… but Anshii wasn’t a Prince. Dios had proven that. He’d come for her… He’d come…! She knew what color was hers, as clear as day. She would only see failure wearing the same color as Akio. Hers was a rose of another color.


	11. Preparations

            Anshii watched in the mirror of the dressing room behind the Fencing Hall as Juri braided her hair. It was one of those inversed pleats, sometimes called a French Braid. She wasn’t entirely certain that it suited her, but it would keep her hair out of her way far better than the previous ponytail. It had the unfortunate effect of making Anshii look very austere.

            It also gave Juri a chance to talk to Anshii.

            “Now remember, Anshii, you can be a Princess. Keep your focus, and don’t let anything distract you. Dios will help you and you’ll win.” Pale fingers flipped hair back and forth with practiced movements as the braid grew down Anshii’s back.

            Anshii would have nodded, except that Juri’s hands tugging on her hair prevented that. “I have more faith now, Juri. I didn’t have that before.”

            Juri’s lips twisted for a moment, and as she finished off the braid with a hair elastic, she looked across through the mirror, meeting Anshii’s eyes. “Then keep that faith and believe.”

            Anshii nodded, rising to her feet. “I should go and make certain that he received the challenge.”

            Before she could take a step, Miki came bursting through the door. “Anshii…! It’s all over the school! What possessed you to leave it in his locker like that? People think it was a love note!”

            Anshii’s lips curled into a smile. “Psychological attacks are often best when the most subtle. Besides, I am only keeping with the tradition started with Utena.” She paused, and then smiled. “And you’re in the women’s dressing room, Miki.”

            Juri watched as Miki looked around and blushed before she herself shrugged at his presence, and then nodded to herself, looking back to Anshii. “Will you take my sword again, Anshii?”

            Green eyes turned to Juri, and lingered for a moment before turning away. “I do not have a sword… and yet, I do not wish to break your blade as Utena did.”

            Juri shook her head and handed her sword to Anshii. “Please. Perhaps it will do some good.”

            A brief smile flickered as Anshii took the sword once again. “I won’t make the same mistake.”

            Juri and Miki watched Anshii turn and walk out of the room with that cryptic comment. One looked to the other, and then:

            “Do you think she’ll win?”

            “There are no such things as miracles…”

 

            Keuske was furious. “How dare that witch! How dare she?!?”

            Mariko lifted an eyebrow. “It can’t be true that she sent you a love note. And yet…” she reached out and picked up the envelope, passing it under her nose for a moment. “The scent of roses is quite cloying.”

            A waft of the scent drifted across the room, as she opened the envelope and read aloud the words within: “I’ll see you tonight in the forest behind the school.” Green eyes lifted from the paper, and she hid a smile behind the note. “Well, it’s certainly phrased such that someone unfamiliar with the Duels would think it a love note.”

            A flush of red flashed across Keuske’s face, but not from embarrassment. Rage burned in his eyes as he glared over to the Rose Bride. “Go prepare the arena.”

            Ever serene, the Rose Bride smiled and gave a slight curtsey. “As you command.”

            Rika sighed. “It isn’t her fault… you could be nicer to her.” She reached over and took the letter from Mariko and studied it thoughtfully. “How many people read this over your shoulder?”

            “Enough,” snarled Keuske as he watched Ayomi depart the Council Chamber. “I’ll defeat her again. Dios will come hold her, and she’ll be defeated.”

            “Don’t be overconfident, Keuske.” Mariko cautioned. “What if Dios doesn’t come? What if she manages to beat you before he comes?”

            Keuske scoffed at Mariko. “He’ll come. She’s the witch that sealed him, remember? He wouldn’t let her win now that he has some freedom.”

            Izumi kept quiet, considering everything carefully. Rika offered him the letter, and he took it, looking at the penmanship. The hand-written letters looked vaguely familiar, as if he’d seen the handwriting before, but he couldn’t think of where.

            “All I’m saying, Keuske, is that if she is a witch, then you may have more concerns than keeping her sword away from your rose.” Mariko said.

 

            Akio dimmed the lights in the Rose Tower. This evening’s entertainment would soon commence, and he wouldn’t miss it for the world. “Like a songbird, flailing against the bars of your gilded cage, little sister. You don’t have the power to change your destiny. You had your freedom, so why did you return to your cage? Was it for her? Or was it for something else entirely…?”

 

            Inside the darkest part of the castle, in a place where the last vestige of light had faded so far as to be unseen by human eyes, a figure waited.


	12. Belief

            The path through the trees towards the spiral staircase was silent as Anshii walked it. There were no birds singing, there were no small fluffy creatures coming out to look at her as she passed. The sun wasn’t peeking through the trees to bathe her in a shining light as she walked.

            This wasn’t a  _shojou_. No Magical Girls here.

            She came to the first step, paused, and looked up. At the top of the stairs, everything would change. She’d do it. She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and then squared her shoulders as she stepped onto the first step and began to ascend the staircase.

 

            He paced back and forth, still annoyed at the audacity of the witch. She had some nerve. She had some gall. To publicly make fun of him! He’d show her. Tomorrow, he’d make some offhand comment to someone about her and let it humiliate her. He’d fix it so that she’d never want to be seen on campus again.

            “The Rose Gate has opened,” Ayomi said quietly.

            But he didn’t hear her. He was too busy plotting his revenge.

 

            At the top of the staircase, Anshii paused again. Oh, for the composure of the Rose Bride! But… no. Not ever again. She could live with the anxiety. It was what made her real, what proved that she was alive. Her palms were clammy, she was as nervous as it got, but she was alive. And she would do this and win.

            She believed in it.

 

            As far as Keuseke was concerned, Anshii looked as calm and composed as the Rose Bride. He had no idea that she honestly wanted to go lock herself in her room and hide from the world. He had no clue how easy that would be for her to do.

            Instead, he saw her approach with calm, measured steps. He saw the ease with which she carried her sword. He saw determination in the lift of her chin and the set of her shoulders.

            And still, he would defeat her. She was, after all, a witch.

 

            Ayomi set the pale yellow rose at Keuseke’s chest, and then turned to Anshii, pinning a rose as red as scarlet to her dueling uniform. The soft voice whispered words that Anshii herself had said time and time again: “Should this rose be knocked from your chest, you lose the Duel.”

            Anshii nodded, knowing full well that she didn’t intend to lose the duel, and that this wasn’t the color of the Prince. Turning her gaze to Keuseke, she smiled. “I do hope that you will forgive me for my impropriety. I just couldn’t think of a better way to challenge you.”

            He turned several shades of red, his cheeks dangerously approaching the color of the rose at Anshii’s chest. She tilted her head in a formal nod, smiled primly, and stepped away.

            She waited until Keuseke had summoned the Sword of Dios, and then took the formal stance that Juri had taught her. He noted the stance and sneered.

            “So you’ve taken a lesson or two from our dear Fencing Instructor. It won’t help you.” He accompanied his words with a strong attack of the sword.

            She parried, arm stinging from the impact of blades. Feinting low, she replied. “Perhaps,” She thrust high, taking him off-guard, but he danced out of the way in time for her to miss his rose. “Perhaps not.”

            He returned the attack, moving in the form that Juri had warned her about. It was one that Ryuuji had used, and was difficult to avoid unless you knew the move itself. But Anshii had practiced well, and the point of Keuseke’s sword-point met only air.

            He scowled, and headed for Anshii again, only to be brought up short.

            Dios was coming.

            The Prince was coming to hold the witch.

 

            Anshii’s breath caught in her throat as the rose scent enveloped her again. Miki’s words echoed in her head, the only mantra that she allowed.  _What if you were never a witch? What if you were a Princess?_  She felt Dios’ smile. His hands covered hers, and she felt him direct her movements. She felt the jarring clash of the swords tingle her arms, but she didn’t resist. Instead, she let Dios move through her, act as if he was there in her place.

 

            For a moment, the world stopped, and her eyes flew open. She had no recollection of closing them, and she was only vaguely aware of the scent of the roses drifting away with the sound of bells in the breeze. Her eyes focused on a single rose petal dancing in the breeze. She admired the contrast of the rose petal against the blue sky, the fragile-seeming spot of yellow floating like sunlight.

            Yellow…?

           

            Slowly, Anshii registered what she was seeing. She’d won with Dios’ help. Keuseke sat on the ground, looking at the point of Juri’s sword still pinning the yellow rose to his chest.

            Anshii stepped back, drawing the sword away from him, and the rose dissolved into petals on the wind.

 

            A drop of wax sealed the envelope, and a dark-skinned hand expertly set the rose seal into the wax. Mariko would have to duel. It was the only way to fix things now.


	13. Victory

            The bells burst into joyful life in the bell tower, and to most of the people at Ohtori, the bells were simply a part of daily life. No one would lay claim to knowing what gave the bells the call to ring, they just did when they chose to.

            But a select few knew the significance of the bells.

 

            Slender fingers held the piano’s chord a beat longer than normal, but continued the song without explanation for the pause.

 

            A telephone call was abruptly disconnected as a cell phone was closed.

 

            Students paused while the instructor waited a beat before calling for the next student.

 

            A group of students sat at a table and looked across at each other, unknowing.  
  


 

            Keuseke stood, glaring at Anshii. “You were supposed to be a witch! Dios was supposed to hold you!”

            Green eyes flashed with a fire she hadn’t felt since the day that she stood up for Dios in that barn. “Dios is my brother. If he is the Prince, then that makes me a Princess.”

            Keuseke’s own green eyes flashed back as he turned to walk down the stairs. “Enjoy your victory while you can. It won’t last long.”

            Anshii turned away, looking towards the girl who resembled Utena. “Ayomi, is there somewhere that you need to be, or will you come with me?”

            “The roses have not been tended today,” Ayomi replied quietly.

            Anshii nodded. “I will be in the Fencing Hall, should you choose to join me later.” She knew the restrictions placed on the Rose Bride, knew that if she told Ayomi to join her, the Rose Bride would. But she wanted to start off right. She wanted to give Ayomi the chance to do it on her own.

            Ayomi smiled faintly and moved towards the staircase. Anshii waited a moment, and then followed.

 

            Juri was writing notes about various students and forms when the door to her office burst open and a jubilant Anshii walked in. “I did it! I won!”

            Juri raised an eyebrow and looked at the woman. Her long purple hair was loose, and her green eyes sparkled above exotic dark cheekbones. She stood there with her shoulders back, no trace of the self-effacing slouch that Anshii had carried as the Rose Bride. Juri had always thought well of herself in a mirror, but compared to the regal appearance of Anshii…  “It’s little wonder they hated you.”

            Anshii came to a confused halt and looked querulously at Juri, who pointed across to the mirror. Turning to look, she was astounded. She barely recognized herself. She felt as if she were looking across the room at a stranger.

            “The shining thing…” Miki’s voice drifted across the room and caught both Anshii and Juri by surprise. Both turned to look at him, and Juri fought the impulse to bury her face in her hands.

            To her own surprise, Anshii blushed. “I never thought… I never dreamed…”

            Miki smiled as he walked into the room. “Anshii, you gave us all something to believe in when we needed it. Now, let us do the same for you. When you believe in yourself, it shows.”

            Juri sat back in her chair and looked at Anshii. “So. Now that you’ve won the first Duel, what will you do?”

            Anshii smiled, a darkness glittering within her eyes. “Change the rules.”

 

            The Rose Bride put the watering can down and surveyed the roses. She had watered them all, even the pale pink rose that made her hands tremble whenever she approached it. She looked at the innocent-seeming rose, wondering why she should tremble so whenever she got too close to it.

            Dark hands clasped her shoulders, and she turned around to face Akio Himemiya. He placed a single finger under her chin, tilting her head back to look at her. “Does that rosebush trouble you, Ayomi?”

            Clear blue eyes looked guilelessly to green ones. “There is something about it… I don’t know what it is.”

            He ran his thumb across her throat, his hand still on her shoulder. To a passerby, it may have looked somewhat sinister. “I can have it removed, if you wish. And then it would never disturb you again.”

            For some reason, her heart caught in her throat. The thought of the rosebush being damaged was more than she could bear. “No… let it be. It’s only a rosebush. I’m being foolish, emotional.”

            His eyes searched hers for a moment, and then he released her. “If you insist, Ayomi. I would hate to think of you being miserable just because that rosebush remained in the garden.”

            “The garden would look odd with an empty space there. Let the rosebush stay; I am certain that it and I shall come to an arrangement.”

            Akio bowed his head to Ayomi, and then turned to leave the garden. “You are the Rose Bride… I shall do as you wish. The roses are yours to tend.”

            As he stepped out, she called to his back. “I move in with your sister tonight.”

            The gazebo door closed behind him, giving her no indication that he had heard.

 

            “I wonder why I am excited? Almost as if I… were going… home…?”


	14. Changes

            The redhead tossed the letter back on the table and looked calmly at Keuske. “Who is this ‘End of the World’ who thinks that he can pick and choose our lives?”

            Rika’s quiet voice broke the uneasy silence after Mariko’s question. “We accepted that when we took up these rings. The Code of the Rose Signet is quite specific in our duties. We do as the letters say. If we don’t…” His voice trailed off.

            “If you don’t, Mariko, then you will no longer be a Duelist. It’s as simple as that. We play by the rules.” Izumi looked across the table at Mariko. “If you don’t like it, you have the choice to leave. But you can’t ever come back.”

            Mariko glared daggers at the letter, green eyes brilliant with anger, but she sat back in her chair sullenly and didn’t leave the room.

            “So Mariko will offer the challenge tomorrow—“

            Izumi’s words were cut off by the door being thrown open with a jarring clatter. A blonde stalked in, blue eyes burning with a challenge to anyone who might refuse her presence.

            “Ah,” Keuske said casually. “Nanami Kiryuu. A… former member of the Rose Council.”

            “I want to Duel,” Nanami snapped, glaring at Keuske.

            Mariko’s eyebrow quirked, and she tilted her head. “You were a Duellist once, Kiryuu. What makes you think that you have the right now to Duel?”

            Nanami’s slender hand slipped out of her pocket, and she cast something onto the table with disdain. Those on the Rose Council gasped when the object identified itself: a Black Rose Signet.

            Worried, Rika looked to Nanami. “Nanami… where did you get this? A Rose Signet only turns black after its owner dies.”

            “I want to Duel,” was Nanami’s only answer.

            The brunette stood and walked over to the blonde. “Nanami… where did you get that? Please, the Black Roses are not safe!” Rika took one of Nanami’s hands into her own and shivered. “Your hands… Nanami, you’re so cold!”

            “Let her Duel in my stead,” Mariko said. “If she wins, then I will Duel with her. It doesn’t matter to me.”

            All eyes but Nanami’s turned to Keuske. He thought for a moment, and then reached out and picked up the ring. “Come, little viper. Issue your challenge tomorrow. But should you lose… not one of us will acknowledge your actions, and you will never rank to anything in this school again. Are those terms acceptable to you, Nanami Kiryuu?”

            A smile as cold as winter settled itself on Nanami’s face. “Those terms are acceptable, Keuske Ojimiya. I do not plan to lose to that witch.”

 

            Slender hands packed a suitcase with care, though there was very little indeed to go in it. There were several Ohtori uniforms, socks, all of the usual things that one finds in the wardrobe of a young lady who goes to an elite private school. There was, nothing unusual, nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, if one were to look at it, she was entirely too ordinary.

            She closed the suitcase and looked off into the darkness, towards the room where she knew he was sitting. “I’m leaving now.”

            Silence was her only answer.

            She rose, took the suitcase in both hands, bowed slightly, and then turned to walk to the room with the elevator.

 

Anshii shivered as goosebumps suddenly raced down her arms and spine. Miki and Juri paused to look at her, but she shook her head and waved them on. Dinner had been excellent, and they were approaching the split in the path leading back to the faculty apartments.

            “Trust Touga to run out on dinner. It’s probably some girl,” Juri remarked wryly as she reflected on his lack of presence.

            “Touga has always looked for her in every girl he encounters. He hasn’t learned to let go,” Anshii replied.

            Juri’s cool blue eyes looked over to Anshii, but she did not voice the thought in her head:  _And you have let go?_

            “She’ll be waiting for you, no doubt,” Miki said quietly, looking ahead to the turn in the path that Anshii would take.

            “Yes,” Anshii replied. “It will be… strange, I think, to see her there. The guise of the Rosebride does not suit her well at all.”

            Juri nodded, and then looked to Anshii. “She’s there.”

            Anshii looked ahead, and could only barely see Ayomi’s figure ghosted in the shadows up ahead. Her stomach flipped a little, and she gave Juri a quick and almost nervous smile before moving towards the girl waiting for her.

            Miki watched as Anshii approached Ayomi and the two moved off before he looked to Juri. “Now do you believe in miracles?”

            The Fencing Instructor gave the Music Instructor one of Those Looks, and then turned and walked towards the faculty apartments.

            Miki sighed and shook his head, following her quietly.


	15. Memories

            Anshii watched quietly as the ghost of her friend unpacked her suitcase. There was a movement of Ayomi’s hands which prompted Anshii to catch them, looking at the girl’s left hand. One finger had a slight indentation, as if a ring had been worn on it for years, a ring which was not there any longer.

            “Miss Anshii… is there a problem?” Ayomi asked quietly, tilting her head to the other woman.

            Anshii shook her head, allowing Ayomi to take her hand back. “No… I was just curious… what happened to your ring, Ayomi?”

            Ayomi looked at her hand, as if seeing it for the first time. “I don’t know… I must have lost it. I did used to wear one there, didn’t I?” Vague confusion crossed her face, and she looked back to Anshii. “I’m sorry… I don’t remember.”

            Anshii tilted her head. “What do you remember?”

 

            The room was swaying, something… something was falling. Something important was falling, fading. Random sounds, a rushing, a crashing, someone screaming, pain…

            The scent of roses.

 

            She could remember the day, her first day at a new and very elite school.  She had an apartment just a few miles from the campus, and she had started out early, walking along the road, enjoying the morning. There had been a car… she remembered seeing it swerve around the curve in the road, seeing the driver try to regain control.

            It had hit her, hadn’t it? The car? Isn’t that what they said had happened?

            She’d woken up in the infirmary at the school, Councilman Ohtori frantic in the other room. They’d said that he’d been reviewing her school records when the word of the crash had come, and that he had literally run across the campus to see how she was.

            When they’d finally let him in, he introduced himself as Akio, and promised that he’d do everything he could to make her convalescence comfortable. She was lucky that she hadn’t broken anything. Just a gash in her side, scrapes across her face, and the knuckles of her left hand scraped raw.

            Her injuries confused her. If the car had hit her… why wasn’t she broken? Where was the driver?

            They called her lucky. The driver had been sent to a different hospital because she was more injured.

            The more she tried to remember, the more it gave her a headache. So she spent a good deal of her time forgetting.

            Councilman Ohtori insisted on giving her clemency, excusing her from the first month of classes. He gave her the role of the Rose Bride, allowing her to convalesce in the rose garden on the campus grounds, surrounded by the scent that she remembered from something just out of reach. Just  _so_  out of reach…

 

            She shook her head as she finished recounting, aware that at the very least, an hour had passed. “I really don’t remember much, and every time I try, the headaches come. The head nurse told me that it was common with head injuries, and that I shouldn’t push things.”

            Anshii nodded, green eyes filled with a multitude of emotions. It was all too convenient, too easy. Akio had to have been behind it, all of it. She forced herself to smile, as in the old days, forced the pleasant look on her face. “Maybe it’s a good thing that you don’t remember right now. Maybe there’s something that you need to face on your own…”

            Ayomi quirked an eyebrow at Anshii, but said nothing. Instead, she closed the drawer that she had been unpacking into, and turned to look at the beds. “Which is yours?”

            Anshii pointed, and Ayomi went to the other one, setting her nightgown on the bed before sitting on the edge and beginning to unbutton her blouse. Anshii turned to pull her nightgown out of the drawer, glancing into the mirror and seeing the thin scar on Ayomi’s side.  _That scar…_  her stomach flipped, and she struggled with herself for a moment.

 

             _“You remind me of the Dios I once loved…”_

_Utena in that white gown, crumpled on the floor._

_“But you can’t become my Prince.”_

_The blood seeping into the gash in the white satin where the sword had sliced._

_“Because you’re a girl.”_

 

            There was a moment, and then Anshii turned, fleeing the bedroom, hands clamped over her mouth as she ran for the bathroom.

            She made it only just in time, her stomach rejecting dinner, flushing the toilet over and over, wishing every time that it would somehow take the pain, take the shame. She hung there, her breath heaving, drained.

            A washcloth, cool and damp, was pressed against her forehead. A few moments passed, and she felt herself start to calm, felt the washcloth’s coolness. “I’m sorry that it took so long. I couldn’t find the washcloths.”

            “It’s… it’s okay… I’ll be fine…” Anshii mumbled. She hadn’t considered that she’d have such a reaction.

            “We should get you lying down, Miss Anshii. Hanging over the toilet only makes you feel worse,” Ayomi said gently.

            Anshii turned, stood slowly, and looked to Ayomi. The girl stood barefoot in her nightgown, long hair swaying about her waist, blue eyes worried. She offered a small smile to the other, and then stumbled back to the bedroom, collapsing into her bed and falling immediately into a drained sleep.


	16. Dream

            When she opened her eyes, the first thing Anshii saw was sunlight streaming into the window, falling across the soft pink hair on the bed beside her.

            On the bed beside her?

            Anshii sat up with a gasp, green eyes widening, ChuChu falling off of her shoulder and tumbling down off of the bed with a startled “Chu!”

            A blue eye opened, peering through the pink haze. “Eh…? Himemiya? What’s wrong?”

            Anshii watched in stunned shock as the woman sat up in the other bed, pushing her hair out of her face, looking at her in concern. There was no mistaking that voice, or the light in those blue eyes. It was Utena. She launched herself at the other woman, hugging her and calling her name with a voice that betrayed her tears. “Utena… Utena…”

            She was hugged back, her friend obviously bewildered. “Anshii… what is it? What… what happened?”

            Anshii sat back and looked at those blue eyes that she remembered being so vacant. “I dreamed… I dreamed… such a horrible dream.” She put her hand to her forehead and shook her head slowly.

            ChuChu climbed back onto the bed and settled onto Anshii’s pillow, looking around, ostensibly for food. Finding none, he settled for amusing himself with poking the pillow, muttering quietly to himself.

            “Dream…? What did you dream?” Utena asked, ignoring ChuChu’s antics and tilting her head at Anshii.

            Anshii’s long hair tumbled past her shoulders as she looked back to Utena, green eyes searching those of her friend. “I dreamed that you Dueled… that you were the one who went to the Final Duel. And… and…” Her voice faltered, failing. Could she admit to Utena what she had done in her dream? She shook her head. “It was only a dream…”

            But was it? She certainly didn’t feel the swords pressing against her skin, didn’t feel the odd duality of existence that had been the Penance. Things that were once so fresh in her mind now seemed covered by a thin veil, hazy and distant.

            “You know…” Utena’s voice drifted through the room as she stood and moved to the dresser, opening a drawer and fishing around within it. “I dream about that too, sometimes.”

            Anshii’s eyes widened. “You…do…?” Absently, she fumbled with a curl of hair, flipping it back and forth between her fingers, watching ChuChu as he noticed, and started trying to catch her lock of hair.

            Utena nodded, still rummaging in the drawer. “Darn, where’d I put the pink ones with the roses…? Anyway, I had a dream the other night that Touga hadn’t won the Duel with me. That he hadn’t gone on to the Final Duel. I did. And I won, in my dream… and…”

            Anshii felt a strange hollow in her stomach, forgetting about her hair, letting ChuChu catch the lock of hair as she brought her hand to her throat. “And what, Utena?” She asked very carefully, afraid of bursting that fragile bubble that seemed to have thinly formed around her.

            Utena closed the drawer, having finally found the bra and panties that she had been looking for. Her nightgown swirled around her bare feet as she walked towards the closet. “He told me that he loved me, Anshii. Can you imagine? Touga Kiryuu in love with anybody but himself?” Shoulders shook with silent laughter. “The whole campus should have known that he only played at being a playboy. He led everyone on so… even poor Saionji was duped.”

            Anshii closed her eyes, forcing herself to take slow and steady breaths. What was this? Had she dreamed it all? Was all of it… all of it… her eyes opened, and she focused on Utena, who was rifling through the closet. “Utena… I…” How could she ask without asking? If she could only find out about Akio… “My brother… Utena, look, I…” ChuChu distracted her suddenly when he tugged her hair too hard, and she pulled her hair out of his hands, looking back to Utena.

            Utena had paused, turned to look at Anshii, a school uniform in her hand. It was a standard girl’s uniform, and not the black male jacket that Utena was well known for on campus. “Anshii… I know how much Akio meant to you. He… he meant a lot to me too. But you know as well as I that Touga didn’t have a choice. The Laws of the Rose Seal…” She sighed and shook her head, walking back towards her bed, tossing the uniform beside Anshii and reaching up to unbutton the collar of her nightgown. “What matters is that we’re free now, Anshii. Ohtori is just an average school now. No more Duels, no more Swords…”

            Anshii stared at the floor, her head in her hands. So things were normal. She’d had a hideous nightmare. She and Utena were no different from any other girl on the campus. That was that.

            So why didn’t it feel right?


	17. Interlude

            The world was cruel, wasn’t it? The world was cruel, and the swords were sharp.

            They cut, they sliced.

            And each one was sharper than the one before it. Like words.

 

             _“But you can’t become my Prince.”_

_“Because you’re a girl.”_

            The world was cruel.

            The pain was unbelievable.

            But there was solace.

             _He_  was solace.

            Only in his arms was there peace.

 

            But why was it silent around that woman? If only he could offer solace, where were the words and the swords around that woman? Where did they go?

 

            Blue eyes opened wide in the darkness.

             _Who was Anshii Himemiya?_


	18. Reality

            The barn was quiet and the rich smell of warm hay was comforting. They’d hidden there, and it was just the two of them for the moment. Anshii knew that the villagers would find them soon, that the Light around Dios drew people inexorably to him, no matter where he was. And of course, as always, he would go to aid them.

            Cursed with these gifts, they were. He who rescued others, and she who healed his wounds. They were expected to use the gifts that they controlled… used and exploited by the foolish ones who didn’t have the gifts.

            They were only children.

            She cast the spell to heal him, silently hating those who threw themselves willingly into danger because they knew that he would come. She loved him above all else, and cared nothing for the fools who used him. He loved them all, and didn’t see how they used him continuously. He couldn’t, after all. He was the Light, and the Light saw nothing of the darkness that it defeated.

            He was going to die if they didn’t give him the time to wait for her to heal him.

            Voices were growing outside; they’d been found. Weakly, he tried to move, tried to go to answer the call for help, but she pushed him back, telling him that he needed to rest, that he would die if he went. Golden bracelets slipped down her arm, a jarring jangle harsh against the soft voice she used to try to convince him to remain still.

            He argued, but she would not relent. All too suddenly, she saw what she would have to do in order to protect them both. It was within her power, though it would take much of that power and bind her in the process.

            For him, it was worth it.

            For his life, she’d give hers.

            Power flared, and his eyes widened as her spell cascaded around them, sealing the powers, forming a castle, sealing away the Prince. His eyes closed as the gifts were sealed away, feeling suddenly even weaker.

 

            Anthy stood, a tiny figure wobbling over to the door, looking back at him. Much of her own abilities were gone, but he was safe. It was enough for her.

            She opened the door and slipped out of the barn, feeling his senses whirling. He was dazed, confused, sleepy. She smiled thinly as she looked at the people who had come to the barn. She closed the door, looked at the people, told them that Dios was sealed away and that he couldn’t come aid them. Dios was hers, she told them. They’d have to learn to manage on their own.

            It was time for them to grow up.

            Her eyes widened as the people turned on her, attacked her. She hadn’t expected them to be angry, hadn’t expected them to try to kill her.

            But attack her they did, with words and swords, calling her a witch, damning her for protecting Dios. Over and over the blades and the words stabbed into her, one blurring into the other until she could no longer differentiate the two.

            By all rights, she should have died.

            And yet, she lay there, unable to move, but still alive.

 

            The door to the barn opened, and he stepped out. The people fell silent, moving back from Anthy, looking at him in horror. Anger swirled around him, bitterness creeping into his voice as he damned them all for their actions. He picked Anthy up, cradling her to him, and reminded them of the story of the fallen Angel Lucifer. When Light falls, it becomes Darkness, he reminded them.

            And Akio turned away with Anthy in his arms, and left the villagers staring after him.

 

            She sat up, in the darkness of the room, caught between the dream of memory and reality. She wrapped her arms around herself, chilled by the memory, then slipped out of the bed and walked down the hallway to the bathroom. She flipped the light on, and turned the water to warm, bending over the sink to wash her face and try to forget the memory of those swords.

            She stood up, looking into the mirror, watching the water drip down her cheeks and saw the blue eyes behind her. She gasped in surprise, jumping before she realized who was there.

            “I thought you’d like a washcloth to dry your face…”

            Ayomi’s voice. Not Utena’s.

            She should have known it was only a dream.

            Bitterness welled into her heart, but she turned and took the washcloth with a smile, grateful for the cloth that would hide her face for a moment. “Thank you, Ayomi. I’ll be back to bed shortly.”

            Ayomi nodded, and giving a little smile, turned and headed back to the bedroom.

_I should have known better…_

 


	19. Gardens

_To the Engaged: I will meet you at 8:00pm._

 

            Anshii crumpled the note and sat on the edge of the bed. The current challenge had come via a note slipped under the dorm room door. It was the first thing that greeted her after a night filled with bizarre dreams, and did nothing for her bleak mood. Ayomi had found it on the way to her first class, and Anshii had waited until after the girl had gone to open and read it. The writing wasn’t familiar, but that didn’t say much.

            She fell over backwards and looked up at the ceiling, wondering if this had been how Utena had felt about the duels. How the strange little pit in her stomach opened up every time she saw a pink slip of paper. She didn’t want to participate, but it was the only way to not only free Ayomi, but to find out the truth and also end things with Akio after so many years.

            She rested the back of her hand on her forehead, pondering the situation, and then, at length, decided that a morning walk would help clear her mind and bring her focus back. She dressed quickly, and then locked the door behind her as she left. Ayomi had a key, she wasn’t worried about that.

 

            Her morning walk ended up with an unexpected encounter with Touga Kiryuu, who was also out for a walk around the gardens of the campus. He greeted her pleasantly, and the two began to walk along the outskirts of the Horticulture Club’s garden.

            “I’m planning a party tomorrow night, Himemiya… I’d be honored if you and… Ayomi Himebara would attend,” Touga mentioned after a long silence.

            Anshii paused to look at him. “A party? I suppose…”

            Touga turned to look at Anshii. “You look hesitant. Do either of you need a gown? It would be a simple matter to…” Her wave cut him off.

            “Oh no, gowns are not the issue at all. A phone call will take care of that. I’ll have to make sure that Ayomi has finished her homework…” Anshii replied, walking back towards Touga to catch up.

            “That reminds me… why didn’t you re-enroll in classes, Himemiya?” Touga asked as they rounded a corner and entered the gardens themselves.

            Anshii’s smile was reminiscent of the old days when she looked at him. “I took correspondence courses.”

            Touga frowned slightly, but didn’t press the issue. He often got the feeling that there was more to her than she told, but that wasn’t his business. He’d finally learned his lesson about sticking his nose into other people’s lives… unlike his little sister… “Himemiya… about Nanami…”

            Anshii waved him off again. “Nanami is young, and she has her own worries. She’ll work things out on her own.”

            Touga stopped, catching her arm. “No… I don’t think you understand. She’s gotten it into her head that Ayomi is Utena, and if she kills her, then you will be punished and I will be freed from her memory.” Blue eyes desperately held green ones. “We have to stop her. She won’t talk to me anymore, and I know that she’s going to try something soon. That’s why I’m planning the party. She can’t do too much in front of her admirers.”

            Anshii nodded slowly. “I’ll do everything I can to keep Ayomi safe. Maybe she is Utena, maybe she isn’t. But Nanami won’t get close enough to hurt her… you can be assured of that.”

            Touga sighed, dropping his shoulders and letting go of Anshii’s arm. “I don’t know, Himemiya. I have this feeling, deep down, that Ayomi is Utena… and unless I re-enter the Duels… I can’t do anything for her.”

            Anshii smiled again, tilting her head. “That’s why I’m here, Touga. I’m Duelling so that I can do something about it.”

            He looked up, over her shoulder and into the depths of the garden. “You’re stronger than I am, Himemiya. Like Utena. There was a light within her… and I see it in you now.”

            Anshii found herself blushing. Coming from Touga, those words were the highest of praise. “Touga… I…”

            He smiled at her, a surprisingly warm and genuine one, all evidence of the Playboy of Ohtori gone. A wistfulness reflected in the blue eyes for a moment before he shook his head at her, long red hair swaying. “It’s true, Anshii Himemiya. You are a bright hope that I’ll see her again.” He turned away on those words, walking out of the gardens, leaving Anshii to stand there with the wind blowing through her hair.


	20. Diversions

            Anshii met Ayomi directly after the girl’s last class and walked back to the dorm with her. She managed to get Ayomi talking about something that had happened in class, and reflected on how different Ayomi was from herself when she had been the Rose Bride. As the Rose Bride, Anthy hadn’t had a chance to be her own self. She was End of the World’s puppet, a doll that danced on the strings that Akio pulled.

            But Ayomi… she seemed to have a will of her own, seemed to be almost… loyal to Akio. To an extent, it frightened Anshii, for this was a method of control that Anshii could not break. If Akio was established as a guardian and protector in Ayomi’s mind, it would take a near act of treason on his part to sway the girl’s opinion. And Akio wasn’t stupid. He’d see through any attempt that Anshii made to try to undermine him.

            She was going to have to play the game on his terms, and she didn’t like it at all.

 

            When they arrived at the dorm, Ayomi offered to make a snack for Anshii, and startled, Anshii agreed. As Ayomi slipped into the kitchen, Anshii’s cellphone rang. She’d almost forgotten that she had purchased one before returning to Ohtori. She picked the ringing phone up off of her dresser and answered it.

            “Anshii here…”

            “Miss Himemiya, it’s Seneka. We’re having some difficulties with the gentleman who ordered the chinchillas. He wants to talk to you directly in regards to one of them, but he won’t leave a message for us to give to you.” Her assistant manager sounded flustered and tired.

            “Is Mister Fujimoto there right now, Seneka?” Anshii asked, reaching down to the edge of the bed and pulling out her sneakers from underneath it.

            “He’s down at the end of the aisle… Chuchu, go get Mister Fujimoto please…” Seneka held the phone away from her mouth as she spoke to Chuchu on the other end.

            Anshii smiled to herself and walked over to the closet to get her uniform out as she waited. She could hear the phone handed to her client, and his gruff hello was her cue to sound professional. “Ah, Mister Fujimoto. I’m sorry that I’ve been difficult to touch base with. How can I be of assistance?”

            “Miss Himemiya, those chinchillas are the prize of my collection. You must tell me where they come from. I want two more for my daughter’s birthday.”

            “All of my suppliers request to do business only through me, Mister Fujimoto. I can assure you that you cannot possibly get a better price for them without me. I can call and have two more sent to my main shop…” She paused and checked her watch. “By Friday. Is that fast enough for you?”

            “Yes, ma’am. Friday will be perfect. The lightest gray they have?” He asked, eagerness tingeing his voice.

            “The lightest they have,” Anshii confirmed, moving back over to the bed with uniform in hand. “May I speak with Seneka please?”

            As usual, he did not say farewell, simply handed the phone back to her assistant. “Seneka.”

            “Seneka… please set up an appointment for him to pick up the chinchillas on Friday afternoon, and then after he has left, call Megu-chan and tell her to send you two light gray chinchillas for Friday morning.” Anshii sat down on the edge of the bed and regarded her uniform with mild reluctance.

            “Yes, ma’am. I’m so sorry to have bothered you, but he was insistent.”

            “That’s fine,” Anshii replied. “Add twenty percent to the total for the rush order.”

            They exchanged greetings again, and Anshii hung up the cellphone and looked up as Ayomi came into the room with a tray. “Oh, goodness! You’ve outdone yourself, Ayomi.”

            There was tea and cookies on the tray, along with several selections of chocolates and chocolate-dipped fruits. Ayomi offered it to Anshii, who helped herself to several of the sweets as well as a cup of the tea. As Anshii tested the tea, Ayomi turned and set the tray on the table. “I used cantarella to flavor the tea… I hope like it.”

            Anshii froze mid-swallow.  _Cantarella? That was the name of the poison that I used when I…_  “That’s interesting. It has a very mild flavor.”

            Ayomi turned back and smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”

             _Is she trying to tell me something? Like I was when I said those words to Utena? Is she Utena in there, just unable to break the spell that Akio has cast?_  Anshii tasted the cookie and looked to Ayomi. “Did you use it in the cookies as well?”

            Ayomi frowned. “No… I bought those at the store.”

            Anshii considered, eating in silence. She could swear that it was Utena, trying to tell her something. But what?


	21. Darkness

            It was with great reluctance that Anshii finally donned the uniform and bid Ayomi farewell until they’d meet on the dueling platform.

 

            She hadn’t been challenged before.

 

            When she arrived at the Rose Gate, something was different. It seemed darker, as if there were some evil tinge to the area that needed purging. The gates swung open without a sound, and Anshii stepped through.

            Through the trees she walked, noting the unearthly chill that wafted through the area, starting at every whispered sound and half-seen image. She felt like she’d fallen into a haunted house designed to spook and unsettle her. Her eyes widened. That was it, wasn’t it? Someone’s will was being imposed here, someone with a very bad intent.

             _“Himemiya… about Nanami…”_

            Touga’s voice echoed in her memory.

             _“She’s gotten it into her head that Ayomi is Utena, and if she kills her, then you will be punished and I will be freed from her memory.”_

 

             _Has Nanami done this? Am I dueling Nanami for Ayomi’s life?_  A chill shot through Anshii as she approached the spiral staircase. Looking up towards the platform, she saw only darkness, an almost complete isolation from the world. She stepped onto the first step, willing some light into the world. She was the Light’s Guardian, wasn’t she? Wasn’t she the one who had started it all?

            Power pulsed away from her, offsetting the darkness with the brilliance of her own thought. Old powers began to tingle at re-use, and she felt a confidence settle around her shoulders. She saw this for what it was now, a ploy by Akio. A counter-plot was forming in her mind as she climbed the stairs, pushing the darkness away with her own light. She couldn’t burn the darkness away, but she was strong enough to offset it.

 

            Ayomi met her at the top of the stairs, a nervous figure in white. “This darkness… the castle does not answer my call.”

 

            “The castle doesn’t answer because this darkness chokes it.” A voice cut through the darkness, and Anshii identified it immediately. Cloaked in darkness, Nanami stood in the center of the dueling platform, arms folded across her chest with a smirk on her face. “You are powerless to defeat me without the castle. Feel free, however, to try. The end result will be the same; I will kill Ayomi.”

            Anshii’s eyes narrowed, and she stepped in front of Ayomi and threw her right hand up in front of her. “You can try to obliterate it all. You can try to block the light.” She raised her hand, wrist up, fingers tilted down. Powers came to call, just as they had so many years ago. She could feel the castle responding, she could feel the Sword of Dios echo the pulse.

            Anshii stepped back, catching Ayomi in her left arm, feeling the weight of the girl fall backwards as the Sword of Dios responded to the call. Anshii drew it forth, the brilliance of the blade cutting away the darkness, spilling light over the dueling platform. “But the Light of Dios is not an ordinary light. It cannot be choked.” She advanced on Nanami, Ayomi straightening her skirt as she watched Anshii take the initiative. “It cannot be stifled. You cannot destroy his light.”

            Nanami stepped back, not expecting the initial attack. She had thought that Anshii would have been intimidated. She gathered her wits and drew her sword, defending against Anshii’s swift incoming attacks, looking for a way in. If she could only unsettle her… “Try as you might, you cannot make her into Utena. Just as you can never be a Prince. And when she is dead, Touga will be mine!”

            Anshii felt a rush of anger, but suddenly, the castle burst into fiery life above them, burning away the darkness, Dios falling towards her, arms outstretched. Anshii lifted her arms to him, felt him embrace her, but nothing else was needed.

            The darkness shattered, taking Nanami’s ring and rose along with it. Anshii felt the control that Akio had built around Nanami dissipate into nothingness, and Nanami sank to the floor.

 

            Ayomi and Anshii walked up to the blonde girl who lay on the floor of the platform and looked at her. “Miss Anshii… we should take her back home. She doesn’t belong in this.”

            For a moment, Anshii was tempted to leave her there, but good sense won out, and she nodded. “Help me carry her back?”

 

            A dark hand put the empty glass down, ice chinking together in the silence. His little sister was becoming stronger, and that could be a problem. Nanami had written him, wanting to destroy his sister, and he had indulged the flighty sister of Touga Kiryuu. He hadn’t expected Anshii to have recovered that much of her own powers. He’d simply have to tread more carefully.

            He turned, looking at the sleeping figure. “She is much like Utena, isn’t she? But that’s why you loved them both so much.”

            Dios didn’t answer. He never moved when Akio was there. Not since that day when Dios had gotten up and walked away.

            Akio snorted. “Suit yourself. She won’t win. You will cease to exist entirely, and I will be the one to take the power.” He turned and walked away from Dios, footsteps echoing long after he was out of sight.

 

            A small smile cracked across pale lips.


	22. Introspection

            Ayomi had to ring the bell at the door of the Kiryuu residence because Anshii was supporting the still-unconscious Nanami. When Touga opened the door, Anshii simply looked at him, eyes unreadable and dark. She didn’t want to tell him what had happened, didn’t want to admit that her own powers could well have killed the girl. Least of all did she want to tell him what his own sister had said about the one that Touga so desperately loved.

_“When she is dead, Touga will be mine!”_

            At a loss, Touga gathered the slender blonde into his arms and looked across at Anshii. No words were spoken, but he knew that Nanami had fallen prey to the End of the World, no, Akio’s plots. Anshii smiled faintly to him, and he nodded his head to her. Ayomi looked as if she might have spoken, but after a moment, she shook her head slowly and looked away.

            As Touga watched Ayomi turn and walk away with Anshii, he wondered how long it would take for Nanami to recover from whatever Akio had done to her. While he didn’t approve of her actions, she was his sister, and he’d be there for her.

            Utena had taught him that much.

            He turned silently and carried his sister inside, the door closing quietly behind him in the darkness of the evening.

 

            A few minutes of silence passed, and then Anshii looked to Ayomi as they walked back towards the on-campus apartments. “Ayomi, do you like horses?”

            Blue eyes blinked several times. “I…” She frowned. “You know… there’s something fuzzy in my mind about horses. I may have liked them… I just can’t remember.” Ayomi tilted her head at Anshii. “Why do you ask?”

            “Well… I was thinking of going riding tomorrow morning, and wondered if you would like to join me,” Anshii replied, opening the door to the apartment building, as if nothing had happened, as if the Duel that was only an hour ago had never been.

            Ayomi considered, entering the hallway, and looking back at Anshii with bright blue eyes. “That would be fun. Yes, let’s do that.”

 

_The lavender-haired man in white took the sword towards the gate that was shaped like a rose, but growled in anger when the gate refused to open. The sword was the key! It had to be! Over and over, he hit the gate with the sword, each blow glancing off of the gate, his anger so great that he did not notice the pained cries of the girl behind him matching every blow that the sword took._

_The blade broke with a sudden shatter, and he grew angrier, spinning around to watch as the girl struggled to her feet and staggered towards the gate. He moved, as if to assist her, but she smashed her hand into his face and used him to push herself forward._

_She caught herself on the gate, leaning on it to rest for a moment while clutching the handle and coughing up blood. She’d gather her strength here for just a moment…_

_A single red droplet fell._

_Magic unlike any felt before swirled wildly, and he watched in astonishment as the seal split, and the Gate opened. His own weak powers came forth, as he swore. He was to be the one to open that Gate! Not her! It was his right, he was the chosen! He called out to the girl in a desperate gamble, cautioning her not to open it, that she didn’t know what was behind it._

_She ignored him and reached to open the gate, speaking, reaching into the gate, and he unleashed a torrent of magic that rained destruction down around them. A well-placed bolt hit the gate, breaking it, and as it fell, he saw._

_He saw the circling swords, he saw them swing away from him, swing away just as they had done so very long ago._

_Darkness fell._

_The swords had not._

            “That’s it, isn’t it?”

            She turned away from the scene, looking at someone who was shrouded in darkness. “That’s the truth. Whatever that is, it’s what happened. Is that what I don’t remember?”

             _You remember what you want to_ , came the reply.

            “But I want to remember the truth!”

_Do you? Then remember it. It sleeps yet within._

            “Sleeps? There was something about someone sleeping… a prince.” Blue eyes widened as she peered into the darkness. “Are you a prince?”

            The corner of a white cloak flipped and the person turned away.

            “Hey, tell me. Hey!” She called to the other as she could hear the footsteps. “Tell me…”

            The scent of roses washed over her. Something important was falling, she was falling, falling…

            There was a scream.


	23. Questions

            Ayomi awoke with a gasp. What had that just been? A dream? No, it felt too real… She looked over to see green eyes looking back at her. She blinked once, then twice. No, Anshii wasn’t the girl in her dream. But the man… she knew him. He was familiar, but she just couldn’t put a name to him. And yet, as quickly as she had awoken, the details within the memory of her dream were fading. By the time she sat up and gave Anshii a little smile, the second part of her dream was no more than wisps of unfinished thoughts in her head.

            She rose, moving towards the dresser to collect her clothing, and smiling faintly again to Anshii, slipped out of the room and headed for the shower.

            In the bathroom, she started the water warming, and slipped out of her nightgown, letting the soft white gown fall to the floor at her feet. She checked the scar in the mirror. Yes, it was still there. It hadn’t faded. She’d never heard what happened to the driver of that car. Perhaps she ought to check up on that. Maybe someone in the office would know what had happened to the driver. Chairman Akio had mentioned something about the driver of the car that hit her going to a different hospital… maybe she could find out from him…

 

            Roses. The cloying scent of roses was everywhere. Something was falling, something important… a scream… was it hers? Someone else’s? A car… there was a car involved… Deja vu struck; the world swayed; she reached for something…

 

            The porcelain of the sink was cold, and as she tried to focus her eyes, realized that the mirror was fogged up, and she blinked, frowning.  _When did the mirror get foggy…? I only just turned on the water…_

            “Ayomi? Ayomi!”

 

            “If you’re in there, answer me! Ayomi!!”

            The pounding on the door was getting louder, and she wrapped a towel around herself and hastily opened the door to the bathroom, lest it be broken down, looking out. Anshii stood there, fully dressed, worry in her eyes. “Ayomi… are you all right? It’s been a half an hour…” Her voice trailed off as something behind Ayomi caught her attention.

            Ayomi blinked. Half an hour? How very odd. She’d only paused to check the scar that the nurses said might fade. The look in Anshii’s eyes made her turn to see what had rooted the other woman to the spot.

_I’m inside the Gate._

            The words were written in the condensation on the mirror, and as Ayomi watched, they faded as the air in the bathroom cooled. “What…? There weren’t any words there before…” Confused blue eyes looked to startled green ones. “Miss Anshii… I don’t know what that was all about. I only just started the water, and haven’t gotten in my shower, but if you give me a few minutes, I’ll be right out.”

            The other woman nodded mutely, and as Ayomi closed the door, she wondered. Where had those words come from… and what on earth did they mean?

 

            On the other side of the door, Anshii shook. That had looked like Utena’s writing. As if Utena were trying to contact her. She walked back towards the bedroom, contemplating the ring on her finger. It was indeed Utena’s ring. And Ayomi, who looked like Utena, had an imprint of a ring on her finger. Everything pointed towards a single solution… as illogical as it was. Ayomi had to be Utena, but under the control of Akio as End of the World. But how he had gained the upper hand over Utena, especially after the Rose Gate was shattered… Anshii flopped down on the bed and sighed. She was still missing too many pieces to the puzzle.

 

            The water was warm, cascading across her shoulders and down her back. Little by little, memories filtered through, memories that she wasn’t sure were from a dream or not. A face flashed before her eyes, of green eyes hidden behind glasses, a patently detached smile. That face was so familiar… while the face she saw in the mirror was less and less familiar with each passing day. Every time she looked, she saw a face that didn’t seem like it should be hers. She shivered under the water, and turned the heat up a little bit more.

 

            Anshii had almost fallen asleep on the bed when Ayomi walked in with a towel wrapped around her head. “Miss Himemiya…?”

            Anshii sat up and looked over across the room at the girl. “Yes, Ayomi?”

            Ayomi took a deep breath, held it, and then exhaled. “Sometimes, in my dreams, I see people and things that ought to be familiar to me. I saw something last night, and it’s bothering me. Especially after those words… the ones on the mirror.”

            Anshii tilted her head and looked at Ayomi. “What is it, Ayomi?”

            The girl looked to Anshii with wide and clear blue eyes, a panic of sorts reflected within them. “Who am I?”


	24. Confrontation

            Akio Himemiya, better known as Akio Ohtori, or End of the World stood in the side hallway of the Rose Tower, where Touga Kiryuu had confronted him. The letter to expel Nanami Kiryuu was in the Chairman’s hands, and Touga was determined that he wouldn’t allow his little sister to take any more punishment at Akio’s hands. He wasn’t a student anymore, subject to the whims of the Chairman… and he wasn’t a Duelist, either.

            Cool green eyes regarded the redheaded man, a small smirk twisting his lips. Akio considered for a moment, looking at the letter in his hands, and then looking to Touga. “You are asking me to overlook gross misconduct and intent to injure another member of the school?”

            Touga glared at Akio, blue eyes flashing with irritation. “Which was arranged by you, no doubt! You’re behind everything, pulling the strings. Don’t think for a moment that I don’t know that. Just… let her go. I’ll straighten Nanami out. She won’t get in your way.”

            Akio laughed softly, a dangerous laugh to those who knew the duplicity of the man who acted as the school Chairman. For a moment, Touga could feel his blood run cold, but he steeled his resolve, and watched Akio unbutton the top button of his red shirt. “And do you say that as a brother, or as one of the school Counselors, Touga Kiryuu?”

            “Both,” came Touga’s calm reply. He saw a gamble, and took it. “But if, for nothing else, let her go as a favor to me. Leave Nanami alone for me.” Touga’s blue eyes were calm, revealing nothing of the dread fear that if Nanami were to be kicked out of Ohtori, she’d have nowhere to go. Maybe, just maybe, there was enough of a person in Akio for him to appeal to and win this.

            Akio stepped forwards, towards Touga, shirt unbuttoned at the collar, tie loose and green eyes deep. “You want me to let Nanami’s misbehavior go?” Caught off-guard by the charisma that Akio could turn on and off at will, Touga reflexively stepped backwards, and Akio began herding him backwards into the wall as he spoke. “You want me to leave your little sister alone because of what? What we were? What we did?”

            Touga’s pulse caught, and for a breathtaking moment, he felt those old emotions rise. He’d fallen in what he had thought was love with Akio once. He knew Akio knew it, and yet, Touga knew that it was only lust. He had given his body and soul to Akio, reveled in it, no matter how wrong it had been to turn his friends over to Akio, one by one.

            And there he was, feeling the same things again. It frightened a part of him, but he wasn’t going to show it, wasn’t going to give into those feelings. He had to free Nanami from Akio, and stand up to the End of the World. If Utena could do it, then so could he.

            Akio pinned him to the wall, green eyes staring into blue ones. One hand went over each shoulder, trapping Touga against the wall in an open and untouching embrace. He could have had Touga then and there. He saw it in the young man’s eyes. All he’d have to do… He leaned into Touga, putting his lips up to Touga’s ear, feeling the younger man tense. “You are truly pathetic indeed to have thought that you meant anything to me.”

            Suddenly, Akio stepped back and away from Touga, releasing the young man, turning off the charisma. For a moment, Touga Kiryuu could see the End of the World looking at him in pure and utter contempt. Akio flung the letter contemptuously at Touga and turned away. When he spoke, his voice was the hard-edged voice of End of the World, and it brooked no discussion. “Very well, Counselor Kiryuu. I’ll spare Nanami this time. But her grades had better come up, and her behavior be exemplary before the end of this month.”

            And with those words, Akio Ohtori, End of the World, left Touga to lean miserably against the wall of the darkened hallway in the Rose Tower, looking down at the letter at his feet.

            Pathetic.


	25. Confessions

            The four people that sat at the round table looked at each other. There was silence in the room, and only at length did the blonde male speak.

            “Nanami Kiryuu failed. She didn’t accomplish her goal; she lost the duel. Chairman Ohtori has asked that she not be expelled from the school, but she will be removed from all social activities and social standings.

            “It’s sad. I’ve heard that she’s in a coma and hasn’t woken since she lost. Her brother had them move her from the sick ward here to the hospital in town. The doctors say it was some sort of cranial trauma that must have caused it,” Rika said thoughtfully.

            “Anshii Himemiya didn’t even so much as touch her,” Keuske commented, looking down at the empty teacup in front of him.

            Mariko rolled her eyes and flipped a red bang out of her face. “Whatever she did, it’s of little consequence. I’ll challenge her and win. Even Juri is hard pressed to win against me now, I shouldn’t have any trouble with Himemiya.”

            Izumi nodded. “Very well, Mariko, you have one week to issue the challenge.”

            The four members of the Rose Council picked up empty teacups and saluted each other, then drank air from the cups.

 

            When Anshii heard the question that Ayomi had asked, she didn’t know how to answer it. Instead, she tilted her head and sighed at the young woman standing in the doorway. “I… I wish I knew. I think, perhaps, that the answers may be here at Ohtori.” She stood, walking to her dresser and opened a drawer, pulling out the photograph that she treasured. Silently, she offered it to Ayomi, eyes downcast.

            Ayomi took the photograph and looked at it. There were two people in the photograph, one of them clearly Anshii Himemiya. But the other… the other looked like herself. She touched the face in the photograph, looking up at Anshii. “I don’t understand. Who…?” Her voice trailed off.

            “That picture was taken two years ago, here at Ohtori, when I was still a student. My friend, Utena Tenjou is beside me. She was a Duelist… the one who had been chosen. But something happened… and she disappeared. I’ve spent the last two years of my life looking for her, but I haven’t found her.” Anshii spoke quietly, looking at her hands the entire time. She didn’t dare look to the other woman in the room, didn’t dare see whatever was reflected in those blue eyes.

            “Is this… me…?” Ayomi wondered quietly. “Miss Anshii… please… you have to help me find out who I am, and what really happened to me.” The towel slipped off of long pink hair, falling to the floor.

            Anshii sighed again and looked at Ayomi. “I’ll do whatever I can to find the truth.”

            Ayomi offered the photograph, and after Anshii took it back, turned to her dresser. “I’ll… get dressed… Are we still going to ride horses?” She pulled out a white sleeveless turtleneck and dark blue jeans, things that Anshii had never seen Utena wear.

            The simple question broke Anshii out of her daze, and she nodded. “Yes… they should be ready when we get to the barn… “

            Closing the drawer and setting the clothing on the top of the dresser, Ayomi smiled to her companion. “This should be fun. Should I put my hair up?”

            Anshii nodded. “A ponytail is probably a good idea… horses tend to bounce a lot. I always braid mine…” That reminded her that she had yet to braid her hair, and so she got up from the edge of the bed and walked over to her dresser and started brushing her hair out so that she could braid it smoothly. She was practiced at forcing her long and wavy hair to bind tightly, so it took practically no time at all to braid the length of it and tie it off at the end. When she turned around, Ayomi was dressed, but having trouble with her hair.

            “May I…?” Anshii asked, walking over to her frustrated roommate, who turned and looked at her in exasperation.

            “Go ahead. If you can make it do anything, I’ll be impressed,” Ayomi muttered, handing over her hairbrush.

            Anshii smiled and started brushing Ayomi’s hair. She’d done Utena’s hair before. For that ridiculous ball where Nanami had been so cruel. She was reminded of that time as she brushed Ayomi’s hair and flipped it back and forth, braiding it tightly. “There!” She stepped back and looked at Ayomi in the mirror.

            For her part, Ayomi shook her head. “Wow. Unbelievable. For that, I’m making dinner tonight.”

            Anshii laughed quietly, remembering another incident with food and walked to the door with Ayomi. “Just… no curry, please.”

            Ayomi gave Anshii a funny look. “Curry?”

            Anshii laughed again. “A very long story. Here, I’ll tell you as we walk out to the barn…”


	26. Riding

            By the time both girls had reached the barn, Anshii had completely related the story of the curry and upperclassman Saionji. They were laughing as hard and as carefree as they could, and Anshii almost didn’t notice that they were there.

            She opened the barn door, entered, and pulled it closed after Ayomi, turning to see the girl pause to scratch one of the many barn cats that inhabited Ohtori’s barn.

            The horses were indeed ready for Anshii and Ayomi, two of Ohtori’s finest white Persian stallions. Anshii herself had cared for them two years ago, and she knew both horses and temperaments. The stablehands had chosen well, and she nodded in approval when she saw Okinojo and Urajime saddled up and waiting for the girls.

            Anshii led the now slightly timid Ayomi towards one of the horses, being careful not to startle Ayomi. “Ayomi, this is Urajime. He’s very large, but gentle. Here, put your hand out, like so…” She held Ayomi’s hand out, palm up, and watched as Urajime took a single step forward to sniff, then lipped at the outstretched hand. Ayomi squeaked a little at the warm dampness, and gave Anshii a look that indicated she wasn’t entirely positive about this. When the horse whuffed a bit, Ayomi pulled her hand back.

            Anshii laughed softly. “Urajime said that he likes you. He’s a gentle horse, and is used to people that haven’t ridden before. We shouldn’t have any trouble with him.”

            A large horse head knocked her forwards a bit, and as Ayomi watched with wide eyes, Anshii turned and hugged the other horse’s head to her. “And Okinojo is a big softy with a jealous streak a kilometer wide. I didn’t greet him first, and now he’s peeved at me,” she explained to Ayomi, scratching at the horse’s forehead. “I’m sorry, ‘Nojo.” She gave Okinojo another thump on his neck, and then let him go so that she could help Ayomi up onto Urajime’s saddle.

            Once Ayomi was in the saddle, she mounted Okinojo and showed Ayomi how to hold the reins. “Now, Urajime is one of the horses that we use here at the school to help younger first-time riders get over their fears of horses, so he reacts to how you sit in the saddle. He’s not going to just take off out from under you, so you can relax a bit. He’ll walk, and maybe trot for you, but he won’t take you any faster than that, and he certainly won’t take you over a jump. I’m going to start walking Okinojo up the hill towards that trail up there, and when I get a little ahead of you, give the reins a light flick and Urajime will follow.”

            To Ayomi’s surprise, Anshii was precisely right, and when she hesitantly flicked the reins, Urajime started slowly walking after Anshii and Okinojo. For the first several feet, she thought she might fall off, but by the time they got to the head of the trail, she’d figured out it was a balance thing, and was doing better.

 

            An hour or so later, they were out in the trails that were a little ways away from the barn, and Ayomi was intoxicated with the area and the feeling of freedom. She turned in the saddle to look at Anshii. “Anshii… I want to try going faster. Can I?”

            Anshii tilted her head. “Well… let’s see what Urajime thinks. Try giving him a little kick with your heels… lightly, and see if he picks up the pace a bit.”

            Ayomi prompted Urajime, who, at first only trotted a little faster, but at her insistence, broke into a canter. Thrilled, Ayomi laughed and leaned back a little bit to look up and see how fast the trees above were moving.

            There was a sudden flash of red off to the side, and as Anshii watched in horror, Urajime spooked. Ayomi shrieked as Urajime suddenly shifted direction away from the trees where he had seen the red flash, off of the trail, and into the woods. Okinojo moved to follow, but someone moved to catch up with Urajime and Ayomi first.

            Akio.

            Anshii’s eyes narrowed as she followed, and her heart leapt into her teeth when she saw the two horses to the side, riderless. She dismounted, leaving Okinojo to meander up to Urajime and the other horse, running to see Akio holding Ayomi in his arms.

            “Really, I’m okay… you can let me up…” Ayomi was protesting the ministrations of the Chairman.

            Anshii stopped just a few paces away and folded her arms. “Are you quite finished, Akio?” Her voice had the slightest tinge of irritation to it, and she looked at him with anger in her eyes.

            Akio turned his head to look to his sister. “You ought to be more careful; she could have been hurt. You’re lucky that I came by when I did.”

            Ayomi’s eyes widened, and she suddenly jumped up and moved quickly towards Anshii. “Really, I’m fine, thank you for your assistance.” She passed Anshii and moved towards Urajime, clutching at the side of the saddle.

            Anshii glared at Akio, not missing the fact that he was wearing his standard red shirt and dark purple tie. “Yes, brother, thank you for your… assistance.” And with that, she turned on her heel and helped Ayomi back onto Urajime before remounting Okinojo and turning them both towards the barn, sharply aware of how close Akio had manipulated things.


	27. Regroup

            Mariko Kunahita wasn’t the sort of individual who would slip a note into a door, or hide a challenge in a locker. She would rather do things like that face to face in an open environment. It tended to offset her adversaries.

            So it was that she was standing by the barn door when Anshii and Ayomi came riding up on horseback, coming back from the trail ride. Mariko waited just long enough to allow Anshii to dismount before approaching the Dueling Champion with a note in her hand. “Anshii Himemiya, I hope that you will do me the honor of accepting a challenge.” Sharp green eyes met questioning ones, and Mariko arched a brow at Anshii.

            Anshii reached out and took the note, nodding to Mariko. “This evening, I am presuming?”

            Mariko took a step back in surprise. Himemiya wasn’t at all as she had expected. Where was the flimsy airhead that was listed in the earlier student files? “I… yes. This evening.” She was beginning to become aware that she had badly underestimated Anshii Himemiya.

            Anshii smiled and put the note in her pocket. “Thank you,” she offered to Mariko, dismissing the girl. She then turned to assist Ayomi off of Urajime and handed the reins for the horses to the stablehands that stood nearby. “Who was my brother riding this afternoon?”

            The young man who took Okinojo’s reins paused and looked to her. “The Chairman stables his horses off-campus. I’m sorry, but I don’t know.”

            Anshii nodded absently and allowed the young man to lead off Okinojo. After a moment, she turned and looked to Ayomi. “Shall we go on back to the dorm and wash up? I have enough twigs in my hair to last me a while.”

            Ayomi smiled and nodded, turning to walk off towards the main part of the school campus. Anshii, for her part, gave Mariko a little wave, and then turned to follow Ayomi off towards the school.

 

            “She dismissed me! Just like that!” The redhead was in a rare fit of fury. The other Council members simply looked at her as she stood at the railing and glared at the world in general.

            “It’s a mind game, Mariko. You know that. If she off-settles you now, it will be harder for you to keep your focus during the duel,” Keuske replied, watering one of the many violets on the table.

            Izumi picked a dead leaf off of a different violet and looked over to Rika, who was busy repotting a violet. “So what do you think, Rika? Is that pot big enough?”

            “It should be. Mariko, calm down. You can’t afford to lose your focus. Not now.” She held up a letter. “If you don’t win this duel, End of the World says that I’ll have to. So do us both a favor and win?”

            Mariko turned and glared at Rika. “I intend to win. And what is with all these damned flowers?” There seemed to be even more of them now, scattered about the floor, cluttered at her feet.

            Keuske gave her a funny little smile. “Nothing like random violents, you know.”

            Rika dropped the empty flowerpot that she was holding, the painted ceramic shattering into a thousand pieces.

 

            Miki rang the bell to Anshii and Ayomi’s room worriedly. When Anshii answered, he was fairly beside himself. “Anshii… I heard that you’re going to duel Mariko. She’s Juri’s best student… I’m worried.”

            Anshii let Miki into the dorm room and shook her head at him. “Miki, all I can do is my best. I certainly don’t intend to lose to Mariko.” She opened her closet and pulled out her dueling uniform jacket. She hung it on the outside of her closet, and Miki noticed that she was already mostly dressed for the duel.

            Ayomi walked into the room, a glass of water in her hand. “Miss Anshii… Miki is right. Mariko is not going to be an easy fight.”

            Anshii brushed some lint off of the wool jacket. “I’m not exactly a pushover myself, Ayomi. I should be fine. Remember,” she turned to look at Ayomi and Miki. “I have Dios on my side.”


	28. Exigency

            Anshii stood in front of the Dueling Arena gate and looked at it. Miki stood beside her, having walked the entire way to the gate with her. He worried at her until she gently but firmly told him that she would be fine. He sighed, but reluctantly agreed. At the gate, she took his hand in hers and thanked him for walking her there.

            He stammered, blushed, grinned like a little boy, and offered to wait for her.

            “No, Miki. Staying here won’t help me. But there is something that you can do for me,” she said, smiling and letting go of his hand.

            “What is it, Anshii? Tell me what it is!” He asked, eagerly.

            She smiled at him. “Go play your song for me. On the piano, if you will. Maybe it will give me strength.”

            Miki nodded eagerly and ran off for the Music Hall, hoping to get there before Anshii made it to the top of the Dueling Platform. Anshii watched him for a moment with mild amusement before turning and triggering the gate.

 

            When she reached the top of the staircase, Anshii paused. There were easily a hundred violets in little pots all over the floor, and she was vaguely disconcerted by their presence.

            Even more disconcerting was the redheaded woman standing at the far end of the platform. Mariko Kunahita was taller and thinner than Anshii, and she struck an imposing figure in a dueling uniform. Her long red hair was pulledback into a very severe ponytail, and her bangs framed her face just so. Anshii was almost doubtful of her own appearance and ability when the fragile notes from a piano touched her ears.

            The music gave her the boost that she needed, and she walked over to Ayomi, extending her hand to the woman, then calling forth the Sword of Dios and facing off against Mariko.

            The other woman attacked almost immediately, and Anshii found herself on the defensive all too quickly. She was parrying almost constantly, defending against the rapid-fire onslaught of swordplay coming from Mariko. It was suddenly very clear to Anshii why Juri had told her that one of Mariko’s nicknames in the Fencing Club was Red Lightning. Her attacks were unbelievably fast.

            Anshii sidestepped repeatedly, and found herself uneasily close to the edge of the platform. At this rate, she was going to lose. She took a deep breath, summoned her courage and darted towards Mariko.

            The castle burst into light, and Anshii felt Dios embrace her. The scent of roses completely enveloped her, and the world shifted. She felt him move with her, felt his hands on hers, directing her movements. She heard Miki on the piano, the music rising to a thundering crescendo, felt Dios lunge, felt the tip of the blade slice through the rose perched on Mariko’s chest.

            The world fell silent.

 

            Bells chimed, a sudden and jarring sound. The duel was over and Anshii had won. She’d managed to win. She staggered, Ayomi catching her in fear and concern. “Miss Anshii…?”

            Anshii faltered again, still caught in Dios’ touch. For a moment, all she could see was darkness, and then, suddenly, she could see. It was as if Dios had opened his eyes.

            There was a little girl in a black jumper curled up in a bed of roses. Almost instantly, she recognized the little girl as Utena, and she tried to reach out to her.

            She fell backwards, landing in someone’s arms, hearing a voice calling her name. “Anshii! Anshii!”

            She opened her eyes and looked into Ayomi’s worried blue eyes, blinking. “Oh… what happened?”

            “Miss Anshii, are you okay? You just fainted after the duel… I was afraid that Mariko had hurt you!” Ayomi said worriedly.

            Anshii sat up, putting a hand to her head and rubbing her temple slowly. “I’m… I’m okay. Just a little more tired than I ought to be. It’s been a very long day.” She chuckled at herself and stood up, looking over to Ayomi. “Let’s go back to the dorm. I could use a long hot bath, a good meal, and bed.”

            Ayomi smiled. “I did say that I’d cook dinner, didn’t I?” She stood and followed Anshii to the stairs.

 

            Mariko stood before Akio and bowed her head. “I lost, Chairman. I’m sorry.”

            Akio stood before her, white jacket open in the front, light hair loose. He reached out and took her chin, gently lifting her face so that her eyes met his. “Mariko… come.”

            Hesitantly, she stepped towards him, and he pulled her into an embrace that was almost too gentle, almost too caring. As he kissed the side of her neck, he undid the buttons on the front of her jacket.

            She gasped softly, whispering into his ear. “You aren’t… angry with me…?”

            He continued to make a trail of kisses, moving down the front of her now-open jacket, pushing her back towards his desk while pulling out her ponytail holder, her long red hair cascading down her back. “Let me show you…”


	29. Interlude II

            She was standing in a church, looking bewildered at her surroundings. She knew this place… didn’t she…?

            Turning, she looked all around the room, until suddenly a figure lit from within previous shadow. She moved towards it, eyes widening as she saw that it was someone resting atop a richly decorated sphere.

_Do you want to know who he is?_

            She started, looking around for the voice that wasn’t really a voice. A small girl stood behind her in a black jumper, and she walked towards the girl.

            “I want to know everything… who he is… who I am… Why don’t I remember? What happened to me?”

            The little girl turned and walked up to the still figure, looking up to him.

_He is Dios, the Sleeping Prince._

            ‘The… sleeping… Who am I? Please, do you know?”

            The little girl turned to look at her.

_I know. But you aren’t ready. When you are ready, you will know._

            The light faded, both girl and sleeping figure dissolving in the darkness.


	30. Interaction

            Ayomi turned around in the darkness, looking for something, anything, and then she saw it. There was a coffin ahead of her, an elegant black thing that shone like enamel lacquer. Hesitantly, she approached it, seeing the Ohtori rose crest inlaid with pink enamel on the top. Curious, she pushed at the lid, peering into the darkness within the coffin.

            “Leave me alone.”

            She pulled back slightly, and then pushed at the lid again, opening it further to see who it was that had spoken.

            “Leave me alone,” the voice repeated.

            “What are you doing in there?” She asked, peering vainly into the darkness within the coffin, trying to see.

            “I’m protecting her. She’s safe while I’m in here.”

            Safe? Her? “Who is safe? Who are you protecting?” Ayomi asked, even more confused than ever.

            “The Rose Bride.”

            The voice came from behind her, and she spun to see a young man standing there with sad green eyes. He reminded her of a younger Akio, and she frowned. “But… I thought that I was the Rose Bride…”

            He reached out and took her hand, leading her away from the coffin and the girl who hid within it, the light fading into darkness as they walked away.

            “Let me tell you a story. It’s not a story with a happy ending, I will warn you. But a long time ago, there was a brother and a sister with the unique ability to save others from their mistakes. The brother used his abilities to protect foolish girls who put themselves at risk, and the sister used her abilities to restore the brother’s health and faith.” They were walking past stained glass windows, her hand still within his. As she walked and listened, she looked at the windows, seeing his words depicted in picture.

            “One day, the brother was severely injured and the sister decided to lock a part of him away, to protect him lest he die. She did this at a great sacrifice to herself, for it also locked much of her own abilities away. What she could not have known was that the people had come to depend on them, and in anger attacked her,” the young man continued, pausing them both to view a window depicting a thousand swords piercing the body of a young girl. Ayomi’s free hand flew to her mouth, tears instantly springing into her eyes.

            “She did not die, and her brother took what was left of his abilities and left with her broken body. In time, he healed her, but the injuries were so that even though he healed her, the pain would return and she would need his healing again. This tortured him, and his very essence darkened. He vowed that he would take revenge on all those who had hurt his sister and thus became End of the World.”

            Ayomi turned to look at him. “What happened to her? His sister?”

            He turned, looking forwards along the hallway, indicating that they should continue walking. “She fell into despair and did his bidding, no matter what it was. All the while she hated herself for it, but still she did not resist. She loved him. And so it went like that, until a little girl was born whose spirit touched a resonant note within the one who was locked away. He brought her to see the entrapped spirit of his sister, and even though he knew that she would not remember, he gave her a ring that might lead her back. The little girl swore to come back and help his sister, and her tears sparked a hope within him that she might be able to do it.”

            They walked along the hallway, the stained glass windows brightening, seeming newer than the ones they had been walking past. “Years passed, and that little girl grew into a strong and bold young woman who was possessed of a dream to become a prince. She didn’t know why, couldn’t pin a reason to it. But she came to Ohtori.”

            Ayomi looked at the depiction of the girl in the window. She was familiar somehow, as if Ayomi ought to know her. “And what happened then?”

            “There, she met the living shell of the sister, known as the Rose Bride. Her noble heart gave her cause to protect the sister, unknowing that she was doing what she had sworn to do. She fought in the duels, protecting the Rose Bride all the way to the end… all the way until…” They stopped in front of a window, and Ayomi turned to see the depiction of the final duel. There were three in the image, a tall man in white with a sword, facing a young woman in black who held a sword against his. A woman in a red gown clutched the woman in black, and Ayomi could see a blade pressed into the woman in black from behind. By the woman in red.

            Her side started to ache.

            She turned away from the image, her left hand moving reflexively to her right side, holding it against the pain. “What happened? Please… I…” The pain was becoming overwhelming, and she clutched his hand tighter. “I need to know.”

            The last thing that she saw as darkness rushed in were his sad green eyes looking to her.


	31. Manipulations

****Three members of the Rose Council sat around the table. Izumi, Keuske, and Rika were present and accounted for. Mariko, however, was missing. The silence was thick for several minutes before Keuske sighed.

            “I suppose losing was too much for her?” Keuske shook his head. “There were no letters this morning. End of the World must not be pleased.”

            The door to the room blew open suddenly, and Mariko walked in, long hair loose in the breeze. She looked somehow… different, and Keuske rose from his chair to meet her. “Mariko? What…?”

            A finely manicured hand proffered a letter. “I have a letter from End of the World. He sends his regards.” Mariko’s voice brooked no opposition, and Keuske silently took the letter and retreated to the table with it. He opened it, skimmed it, looked at Mariko silently and then handed the letter to Izumi.

            “I am displeased with the current lack of ability to compete against my sister in the Duel. Another must take place before the end of the week. Rika, you are too soft. Izumi is to issue the challenge. Defeat her before she can draw upon the power of the castle above.” Izumi read the note aloud, and Rika made a face at the words.

            The brunette rose, and walked over to Mariko. “Why would you have the letter? Did you meet End of the World? Have you seen who he is?”

            Mariko smirked and looked at Rika. “I’ve seen him. He’s quite the individual. I’m glad that I have met him. I doubt you’ll have the chance.”

            Rika stopped, turned to look at Mariko, and bit back a sharp retort, stalking towards the door and leaving the room.

            “Mariko! Was that entirely necessary?” Keuske asked, shocked. If ever there was a catfight, well, he had just seen it.

            “End of the World is of the opinion that she is what isn’t necessary. If she leaves, it will be of little consequence,” Mariko replied archly.

            Both men watched her in disbelief as she made herself a cup of tea and sat at the table. Something was amiss.

 

            The brunette’s footsteps echoed through the campus as she ran from the Rose Tower towards the dormitory where Anshii and Ayomi lived. Tears blurred her vision, so she almost knocked over the person who was walking along the hallway.

            “Oh! I’m sorry… I wasn’t looking… please forgive… me…” her voice trailed off as she realized who it was that she had encountered. “Chairman Ohtori! Oh my goodness, please, I’m so sorry!”

            Akio simply smiled at Rika, a deceptively gentle smile, and offered a hand to steady her. “Careful, young lady. One really shouldn’t be running pell-mell through the hallways.”

            Rika’s cheeks flamed red, and she nodded. “I know, I was upset. I apologize.” She backed up a bit as his hand came up to touch her gently on the cheek, and her cheeks deepened in scarlet. He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the cheek, smiling as she got embarrassed and put a finger over her lips to keep her from stammering stupidly.

            “Very well. We’ll let you off this time. Now, go on and take care of whatever it was that you were going to do.” Akio said, waving the now completely flustered Rika off. He watched her turn and walk away very quickly, smirking darkly before turning to go in a different direction, only to be accosted by his sister.

            “Are you sleeping with all of them, Akio?” She put her hand to her brow for a moment. “Honestly, you never change.”

            Akio moved close to her, catching her by the wrist, pulling her towards him. “You know that the only one I truly want is you. It’s the easiest way to end this you know, coming back to me, I mean.”

            Anshii yanked her wrist away from him, and as she stepped back and turned away, her free hand came up in a sharp slap across his face. “You disgust me. There may have been a time when I would have been pleased to hear those words, but now…”

            He looked at her, green eyes glittering at her back in the shadow. “Now, I hold the key to the one thing that you hold dear. How do you like the role reversal, sister mine?”

            She spun around to face him, anger in her eyes, in her voice. With all the invective she could muster, she spat: “Dios awakens a little more every day. The Darkness cannot live where the Light rules. You will be defeated, Akio. You will fall, and I will find Utena.”

            She turned, stalking away from him, cheeks flaming and eyes furious.


	32. Unease

            Anshii walked into the dorm room, and found Ayomi fast asleep at her desk, head resting on her Algebra textbook. She watched for a moment, and then reached out and put her hand on Ayomi’s shoulder, shaking her slightly. “Ayomi…? Ayomi… wouldn’t you be more comfortable in your bed…?”

            Ayomi picked up her head and blinked sleepily through her soft pink bangs at Anshii. “Oh…” she paused, forcing herself back into the reality of the world. “I had the strangest dream…” She looked at the textbook that had been her not so comfortable pillow, and smirked. “And with that as a pillow, it’s little wonder. Ugh.”

            Anshii chuckled softly, moving the textbook off to the side of the desk. “If I had an Algebra textbook for a pillow, I’d have strange dreams too. Come on, the bed would be more comfortable.” She walked over to the table and set her purse down on it as she talked.

            “Well… I’ve napped… I can stay awake for a little while. How was your evening?” Ayomi asked, moving towards the side table and pulling out a warm teapot and teacups. She had set the tea to brew before she’d fallen asleep, and it looked like it hadn’t finished steeping all that long ago. She hadn’t spent that much time asleep, then, she decided. But how was it that one could nap only a few minutes and have it seem like hours? She reached for the creamer and sugar, putting them on the tray beside the teapot.

            Anshii flopped down in a chair and leaned on the table, chin on folded arms. “Oh… it went. I swear, I have the most evil brother in the world.”

            Ayomi came to a halt, frozen for a moment. Events in her dream played through her mind, and she shook her head, turning to smile at Anshii, tray in hands. “Maybe he isn’t truly evil? Just… angry?” She set the tray down on the table and turned the two teacups over.

            Anshii arched an eyebrow. “If it breathes, he’ll seduce it, Ayomi. You have to be careful around him. He used to have power over me… once, long ago. He’ll use whatever advantage he can against you, so just keep that in mind.”

            Ayomi nodded, pouring tea into the teacups and offered a cup to Anshii. “There are lots of people who will use others to their advantage. It’s not easy to tell who is who at times.” She took her own teacup off of the serving tray and sat it in front of her chair. She moved back to the side table and picked up the plate that she had been unable to put on the tray.

            Anshii sipped at the tea thoughtfully. “Yes… there have been times when it’s been clear that people were trying to use me… and other times, it wasn’t as clear. It makes it hard to decide who you can trust, and who is your enemy.”

            A plate of cookies were set by Anshii’s saucer, and Ayomi turned to put sugar in her tea. “I used canterella in the tea again. I hope you like it.” Her voice was non-committal, as if she were unaware of what she had just said.

            Anshii froze in mid-sip, an eerie feeling of deja-vu creeping over her. She’d said that to her once before. Was that Utena, actually trying to give her a message? “Really? It does make the tea quite wonderful. Did you put any in the cookies this time?”

            Ayomi turned and and sat quietly in her chair. After sipping her tea, she pointed to a wrapper off on the side table and smiled. “No, those were the store-bought ones. You seemed to like the last ones…”

            Anshii took another sip of tea, then reached out and took a cookie. “They still won’t be as good as the tea, then. Pity.” She took a bite and chewed it thoughtfully. Sugar butter cookies, the kind that looked like a little flower with the hole in the middle. Not exactly her favorite, but they were a good match with the tea.

            “I agree,” Ayomi replied. “They aren’t nearly as good as home-made, but I really had to study for that exam…” She left out the part where she hadn’t even cracked open the book and instead took that impromptu nap with the bizarre dream that she was still trying to figure out in the back of her mind. The woman in the red dress… the stained glass depiction looked a lot like… “Miss Anshii…?”

            Anshii looked up, across the table to Ayomi, and arched a brow. “Yes, Ayomi?”

            Ayomi took a deep breath and considered the question carefully. Knowing what she knew, having spent time with Anshii… maybe she was wrong. But she had to ask. She had a feeling that it was important. “You… you were the Rose Bride before, right?”

 

            Time stopped.

            “Yes…”

            “And your gown was red.”

            “Yes.”

            “Why did you stab her?”


	33. Exposure

            The bedroom door closed, and Rika flung herself face-down onto her bed. She didn’t want to duel. She didn’t believe in it. She’d only gotten involved because the Council had wanted another girl, and she was a strong enough fencer in her class. She was the youngest, and that often took a toll on the brown-haired girl. Rika didn’t understand why the Rose Council dueled. She couldn’t see any reason for the Student Council to require participation in the sport. She rolled over to look at the ceiling, and as she did so, heard a knock at her door. She debated for a moment whether or not to answer it, but the knock came again, this time a little more insistent. She’d have to answer it. It might, after all, be important.

            The joys of being on the Student Council. When trouble knocked, responsibility answered.

            She dragged herself to her feet and walked to the door, opening it a crack to see Izumi Nakamima standing outside. “Rika, I’d like to talk to you for a moment, if I may.”

            Rika blinked. She didn’t live in a co-ed dorm. She could get into a great deal of trouble if people saw him enter her room, even though they were both council members. “Can we talk in the library, or somewhere where people won’t misinterpret…?”

            He considered for a moment, keenly aware of appearances and propriety. In a closed campus such as Ohtori, it was all too easy for only one person to get the wrong idea and suddenly a scandal would erupt all across the campus. “I know somewhere where we can go to speak.”

 

            Izumi held the door to the glass-enclosed rose garden, allowing Rika to enter first. It was shrewd to choose the rose garden, only council members and the Rose Bride were allowed within, and yet, everyone could see through the glass and into the garden and whoever might be within. It was the perfect place for supervised privacy. He closed the door behind him, and watched as she picked up a watering can and idly tended the first rosebush she spotted.

            “What did you want to talk to me about, Izumi?” She asked, moving the nozzle of the watering can lower, so as to get the water directly to the roots, and avoid soaking the blooms.

            “It seems that Mariko is in direct contact with End of the World now. While it makes her very powerful, it does not excuse her behavior. Given that Keuske is the upperclassman, he has cautioned her about her behavior, and reminded her that even though she is two years above you, she has to treat you as an equal, given your status in the Rose Council.”

            Rika shook her head slowly, moving to another rosebush. “It’s okay… really. I think that I’m going to tell Mariko to do it herself. I don’t want to duel, Izumi. I never did. I don’t care about any ability to revolutionize the world. I like the world the way it is.” Her cheeks flushed, but she kept going. “I was only there because you asked me to be a member, and because I wanted some place to fit in. Even with that in mind, I still don’t fit in.”

            Izumi was honestly surprised. He had thought that she enjoyed being a member of the Rose Council. “Rika… I thought that you liked it. I thought…”

            She turned around and looked at him, tears sparkling in her eyes. “I enjoyed being near you. I liked all the time that I got to spend around you, working with you. I guess I kept hoping that you’d notice me, but you’re too wrapped up in your quest for power.”

            He stood there, dumbstruck. It hadn’t remotely occurred to him that he might have been her reason for being there. Before he could say a thing, Rika set the watering can down at her feet and ran out of the Rose Garden. The door banged shut behind her, and he was left staring at the watering can, wondering what to do.

 

            Akio stood quietly in the projection room, hands folded behind his back, listening to Mariko report in from the doorway. He, of course, had known about Rika, had expected Rika to leave before she had to duel. It came as no surprise to him. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the redhead, and waited until he heard the door click shut to turn and walk to his desk.

            What had come as a surprise to him was that he had been invited to the ball that Touga Kiryuu had planned. He hadn’t been invited to any of Ohtori’s functions before, and he was giving serious consideration as to who would attend the ball. Chairman Akio Ohtori, or End of the World.

            Then again, after all was said and done, weren’t they one in the same?


	34. Secrets

            The teacup slipped out of dark-skinned hands, falling against the table, chipping and spilling its contents onto the cookie saucer, the store-bought cookies starting to absorb the tea.

            For a moment, Anshii froze. She could feel the warmth of Utena’s back, feel the chill of the epaulet her hand pressed against. She could also feel the cold steel of the sword in her right hand, the sword that she slid up against Utena’s side, slicing it into her friend. Akio had wanted Anshii to kill her. Anshii couldn’t do it. It was all that she could do to bring herself to stab Utena in the side. She’d had to do it. She wasn’t given a choice. But it had hurt so badly, so very badly…

 

            Anshii blinked. Ayomi was sitting there, looking at her with clear blue eyes, waiting for the answer that Anshii wasn’t sure that she truly had. Instead of hedging and redirecting, she opted to take the straightforward path and be truthful, even though Ayomi might hate her for it in the end. Looking down at her hands, those hands that had done that hateful deed only short years ago, she attempted to reply. “Ayomi… I’ve asked myself that almost every day since. Akio controlled me… he practically owned me. What he said to do, I did. Without question, without pause. I had no compunctions against doing anything he told me to do. Except that one time. He told me to do something once, and I didn’t do it. You see, Akio wanted me to kill Utena. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill her. She was my friend… she had given me hope.”

            Tears started pouring down Anshii’s face, just as they had the night that he had told her that she would have to kill Utena. It was the night that she had warned Utena with the canterella that Akio had called her to him before bed. It was that night that she had tried to throw herself from the Rose Tower because she knew she couldn’t do it. The night that Utena had saved Anshii and condemned herself.

            “I had tried to warn her, tried to convey to her that she needn’t take the risk. I tried to kill myself instead of allow her to come to pain by my hand… but she saved my life that night, nearly throwing herself off of the Rose Tower to catch me. It was as if she knew the dangers, and accepted them. And when I told her that she should leave the school and forget all of this, she told me that she couldn’t.”

_“How could I do that? There’s no way in Hell that I could do that.”_

            Anshii shivered, tears continuing to fall. “I warned her again the day of the final duel. I told her that she didn’t have to go, that she could leave and not concern herself.” She shook her head. “She smiled and showed me her ring. I told her that she didn’t have to, but she went, anyway. At one point, in the duel, I think she could have won. She might have actually been able to defeat him. But he used me as a shield against her, and she pulled her attack, stepping in front of me, pulling me behind her.”

            “Instead of hoping that she could defeat him, I acted uncaring. I drew the sword and hurt her as much as I could bring myself to do, hoping that it would be enough of an injury to save her from Akio. But… somehow… somehow she kept going…” Her voice broke and she sat there, sobbing quietly for a minute before she recovered. “Somehow… she opened the gate and rescued me. I did all of those awful things, I betrayed her, and she still protected me.”

            “You did what you were told to do. That is who the Rose Bride is, that is what she does.” Ayomi said quietly. “Perhaps she was only doing what she was supposed to do. Sometimes, things go the way that they are supposed to, even if we think that they are not.”

            Anshii looked at Ayomi, green eyes still filled with tears. “But that’s just it… I didn’t do what I was supposed to.” She looked to her hands. “For once in my life, I had started to feel hope. I disobeyed, and what did it get me?”

            “The chance to come back and set things right. And now you have that chance.” The voice changed slightly. “And if anything ever bothers you, you can come tell me.”

            Anshii looked up. Ayomi was smiling, and she echoed the smile faintly through her tears. She knew, all the more certain now, that Ayomi was Utena. Utena had said that to her before.

            It was time to learn the truth from Akio. He’d be at the ball tonight, she knew it. It was time to end things once and for all.

            Utena was depending on her.


	35. Ball

            Anshii and Ayomi arrived at Touga’s doorstep precisely at eight p.m. It was a calculated move, arriving at the ball an hour late, just late enough to be fashionable and yet not too late so as to appear rude.

            As she had predicted, Akio was already in attendance, and her arrival with Ayomi immediately broke the attentions that he was receiving. Instead of fawning all over the Chairman, suddenly every student was turned to look at Anshii and Ayomi.

            Anshii stood beside Ayomi just inside the door, a confident and radiant figure with her long hair cascading loosely down her back. She had chosen her own gown carefully, a long scarlet sleeveless gown with a modest neckline. At her waist was a glittering gold belt, and gold bangles adorned each wrist.

            Ayomi had selected something almost at random, much too overwhelmed with the selection of gowns that Anshii had provided, and Anshii had to admit, the girl had chosen well. The satin of the strapless gown was a very pale shade of pink, almost appearing white against her hair. The style was simple, with no frills or lace to be found, and the younger girl found that she liked it. Ayomi had asked Anshii to brush her hair, and then decided that Anshii had done such an excellent job brushing it out that she was going to wear it loose.

            The end resemblance to Utena was almost Touga’s death.

            He’d hurried up the stairs to see them so fast that he had tripped halfway up and only barely managed to catch himself  before he ended up at Ayomi’s feet. As it was, she caught his flailing hand out of reflex, and he blushed violently when he recovered enough to look to her smiling eyes.

            “Ayomi, you look every inch a princess,” Touga said, by way of compliment, slipping his hand out of hers to smooth his white dinner jacket and tug at the cuffs to pull his sleeves back into place.

            Anshii’s stomach flipped, but Ayomi only smiled sweeter when she replied. “Who knows? Maybe I am and I just don’t know it. Being here in this room, wearing this dress, it is easy to forget that I’m only a High School student and you are the Guidance Counselor.”

            Anshii choked on a laugh and watched as Juri patted Touga on the shoulder. “She has you there, Touga.” Juri had always managed to dress strikingly, even though she refused to wear anything other than slacks. Tonight, her ensemble was black dress slacks and a white blouse with an almost daringly low neckline. The only truly feminine thing that she allowed was the necklace that chased the neckline by an inch, giving Anshii cause to arch an eyebrow to Juri. Peach-colored lips curved knowingly in return, and Anshii had to work to keep her own face straight.

            Bit by bit, conversations had been renewed through the room, but Anshii knew that the damage to Akio had been done. She was just about to ask where Miki was when Akio swept up the stairs and took her hand, pulling it up to his lips. She braced herself, refusing to allow him to pull her off-balance, and he was forced to bow to her hand to kiss it. Ever the outwardly polite, he bowed and kissed her fingers, all the while his eyes smoldering at hers. “Anshii, you look simply breathtaking in that gown.”

            Anshii simply smiled in return, knowing all the while that he was cursing her with every word he uttered. Taking the opportunity to make him even more miserable, she offered a reply. “Thank you, brother. I’ve always been fond of red.”

            The air around Akio darkened and he let her hand go, lips thinning into a dark and twisted smile. “Yes, I recall that.”

            As Miki walked up with two drinks in his hands, Akio turned and brushed past the surprised Music Instructor. “What did I miss?” Miki asked, watching Akio storm off. His own white dinner jacket was slightly askew, his tie a little out of place from having to jostle through the crowd of people to get away from the bar.

            Juri took one of the drinks out of Miki’s hand and sipped at it. “An amusing interlude.” To Anshii, she said, “You certainly didn’t do what he wanted you to do.”

            Anshii carefully hid a smile. “The days of being… subservient to my brother have ended, Juri.”

            Touga hadn’t even noticed the exchange, or the arrival of Miki, for he was staring intently at Ayomi, who in turn was blushing at his gaze. Finally, Anshii looked over to Touga and cleared her throat. “Touga – you’re staring.”

            He blinked, stammered something akin to an apology and coughed into his hand to cover his embarrassment. Ayomi was bewildered at his behavior, but rather delighted that someone was paying attention to her.

            Fortunately for Touga, someone chose that moment to ask him about his sister’s health, and he turned away to answer, leaving the other four to shake their heads.

            “Ayomi… would you like something to drink?” Miki asked offering his arm, and after a quick glance to Anshii, the pink-haired girl nodded and took Miki’s arm to walk with him to the bar.

            Juri watched them walk off and remarked casually as she and Anshii moved away from the door and down the stairs. “She certainly evokes a strong memory of Utena, doesn’t she?”

            Anshii nodded, looking at the girl beside Miki. “I think she is Utena, Juri. I think Akio’s controlling her and I intend to break that control very soon.”

            “How do you intend to do that?” Juri asked, sipping again at her drink.

            “I’m going to have to challenge Akio to a Duel.”


	36. Dance

            Anshii wasn’t a bit surprised that Touga should ask Ayomi for the first dance of the evening. In fact, she’d tried to have a bit of fun with it, offering bets with Miki and Juri but both of them had agreed that Touga would ask her, so Anshii stood to the side and chuckled at them both as Touga asked the blushing girl.

            She was, however, surprised to see Akio approach with his hand out to her. For a moment, she wasn’t sure if he was trying to up-hand her again, or if he was simply being polite. She narrowed her eyes for a moment, and then sighed, turning to set her drink on the table next to her and took his hand.

            He led her to the dance floor, bowed, and took her into dance form, bringing her closer to him than she would have liked, but to fight him would bring undue attention to them both and be embarrassing.

            “It’s been a long time since we liked each other, Anshii,” he said quietly, and her eyes widened. They danced carefully through the steps, she spun in his hand, catching a look at his face as he pulled her back to him. His eyes weren’t readable, and she wondered what he was after.

            “It has,” she finally acknowledged. “A part of me does miss those days. But each of us is on their own path now.” He spun her again, and she felt his hand lightly touch her waist, bringing her back into form as they danced through the steps. If he was trying to be his normal manipulating self, she was having a hard time seeing it.

            “Our own path,” he echoed, turning them both so as to avoid the clumsier dancing of another couple that was getting too close. “Anshii… it doesn’t have to be like that. I’d rather be brother and sister again.”

             _Ah. So that’s what he’s doing,_ she thought. _He’s trying to get me nostalgic and force me into joining him again. Well, brother dear, I have no intentions of that!_  She tilted her head up and smiled into his shoulder, looking across the dance floor to see Miki and Juri watching. She hoped that one of them would get her message, but Akio turned her away before she could see if either noticed her signal of distress. “In truth, we still are brother and sister, Akio.”

            There was a hint of a commotion, and suddenly, Akio’s grip on her was lessened and a soft voice asked if he might have a turn. Relief washed over Anshii like a refreshing breeze, and she turned to smile at Miki as Akio relinquished the dance to him. “I’m sorry, brother,” she offered in answer to his attempt and the fact that she’d been effectively stolen away by Miki.

            Akio gave his sardonic little half-bow and excused himself from the dance floor and Anshii sighed heavily. “Thank you, Miki. I think you just saved my life.”

            Miki laughed as he mimicked the other dancers. He wasn’t that familiar with the dance, but, “Juri didn’t give me any other options. In fact, I believe her words were ‘Anshii’s in trouble, get out there.’”

            She laughed, casting a glance to see where Juri was, and noticed Shiori in a rather demure gown chatting animatedly while Juri listened. Tilting her head, she wondered. “Miki… tell me something? About Juri…”

            “Mmm,” he replied after a moment. “She and Shiori argued a lot for a little while after you left. One night, I found Juri up on the bridge, crying, and instead of walking away, I started talking to her.” He spun her, hoping that she knew what to do, and to his relief, she did. When she turned back, he continued. “We’ve been seeing each other off and on now for a year, and I understand her a lot more. She still talks with Shiori, but it doesn’t hurt her anymore.”

            Anshii nodded and the music started to fade. She gave Miki a little curtsey and he bowed back awkwardly in return. “You are a dear, sweet thing, Miki. Don’t change.”

            He blushed to the roots of his hair, and Juri met them at the edge of the dance floor, an eyebrow lifted. “Thank you for sending Miki in to rescue me, Juri. He’s a delightful companion.”

            Juri laughed quietly, watching Miki’s blush deepen. “Speaking of companions, what was all that about out there?”

            Anshii sighed, casting about a glance to see where Akio had gone. Not finding him nearby, she felt at ease in replying. “He wants me to stop fighting him. He tried to get me to drop my guard by acting like my brother again.”

            Another song started, and Miki touched Anshii’s arm. “Look…”

            Anshii turned to see Akio leading Ayomi out to the dance floor and her stomach sank. “Oh no…”


	37. Sinister

****Anshii had turned Akio down, and now he was going to show her the level of control that he could exert. She was positive that he was going to do something to Ayomi and she would be powerless to protect the girl while he was dancing with her.

            As they danced, she watched them, all senses on alert, while Juri and Miki stood to the side, talking quietly between themselves.

 

            Akio was aware that Anshii was watching, and he smiled at Ayomi, just to make Anshii wonder. “Ayomi, you look lovely tonight. I’m pleased to see that you are making an effort to interact with people.”

            Ayomi was more paying attention to her feet, but she managed to reply politely. “I still don’t remember a lot, but I’m trying.” Truth, she wasn’t paying him much attention at all. She didn’t want anything to do with him, and was desperately hoping that she didn’t end up with her feet tangled up in the hem of the gown, or worse… on Akio’s feet.

            “Things will come back in time, so don’t push yourself. Careful…” He had turned her a bit too fast and she’d stumbled. He caught her easily, taking the opportunity to pull her in closer to him. “There, you’re okay now.”

            She blushed, looking at him curiously. “Did you do that on purpose, Chairman? I know that I am not that good of a dancer, but there really isn’t any need for me to be any closer to you. It’s not… proper.” She spoke quietly, but with a curiously arch tone, admonishing him while at the same time being polite about it.

            Akio immediately stepped back and placed a more modest distance between himself and Ayomi, smiling disarmingly. “Is that better? I wanted to make certain that you wouldn’t fall again.”

            For some reason, Ayomi found that she couldn’t warm to him. Something had settled over her, like a cool shroud and she felt distanced. A flash of anger rippled through her, and she felt her shoulders stiffen.  _Don’t touch me!_  “I won’t fall because I don’t feel like dancing anymore. So if you will excuse me…”

            But Akio didn’t let go of her.

 

            Anshii saw Ayomi try to turn away from Akio, saw Akio’s refusal to let go, and clenched her hands, glaring at her brother. “Let go of her,” she hissed under her breath, and Miki and Juri turned to see what was going on.

            As they watched, Ayomi’s cheeks went from pale to flushed, and it was clear to those paying attention that Akio was not acquiescing to her wishes.

            What surprised both Juri and Miki was that Anshii suddenly drew herself up, squared her shoulders and proceeded to march across the dance floor and right up to Akio and Ayomi.

            The music was ending as she tapped Akio on the shoulder and he turned slightly to look at her. “The dance has ended, Akio. Time to let go.” Her voice was dry and clear, and the closer couples turned to look at them.

            Abruptly, he turned Ayomi loose, and she ended up stumbling into Anshii, who brought her arms protectively around the slightly taller girl. A distant part of her mind wondered at the height difference, for she had thought that Utena had been considerably taller than she was. Outwardly, she narrowed her eyes and looked coldly at Akio. “The Chairman of Ohtori should behave better at a public function.” She could feel Ayomi shaking, and turned her away from Akio. “At the very least, you should apologize for upsetting Ayomi.”

            “In truth, dear sister, I had not intended to upset her. Certainly I had not intended this… spectacle that has just transpired on the dance floor, and I will gladly take my leave of all involved.” He bowed slightly and gave Anshii that dark look that she knew entirely too well. “Good evening, sister. Ayomi.”

            Couples parted to allow Akio to leave the dance floor, silence falling as he swept out of the room and left the party. Touga moved away from the girl he had been flirting with and frantically motioned to the musicians to play something, anything, but to get things moving again before the whole evening fell apart.

            The musicians started playing, and Anshii turned to look at Ayomi, who was still shivering in her arms. “Ayomi… are you…?” But the girl wasn’t shivering from fear. There was pure anger in her eyes, and Anshii stepped back in concern.

            “He makes me so angry! Anshii… why do I hate him so? It just came on suddenly, this cold loathing. I didn’t want him to touch me while we were dancing, and he wouldn’t let go, and…” She saw the strange smile on Anshii’s face and paused in her tirade. “What?”

            Anshii shook her head. “Nothing…” She waved away the concern, noting the fire fading from Ayomi’s eyes and as the music changed, she had an idea. “Ayomi…?” She lifted her hand to the girl, palm up.

            A soft pink eyebrow quirked, and Ayomi tilted her head. “Hmm?”

            “May I have this dance?”


	38. Scar

            The musicians were taking a break, and the music that was starting was from a CD player that one of the players had turned on before moving off to the table of food. There were a few moments of chaos when music started up, and then Anshii vaguely recognized the song. She offered her hand again to Ayomi, and was pleased to see the girl reach out to take it gently.

            Soft blue eyes met bright green ones, and something flickered in the blue eyes in reaction. Anshii smiled and lightly pulled Ayomi to the dance floor.

            It didn’t matter who was on the dance floor. Ayomi and Anshii may as well have been alone for all they noticed. Juri leaned in to Miki and whispered something into his ear about how unnerving the two looked. Just like when Utena had pulled Anshii out for a dance that night. Miki nodded in response and they turned to watch the two dance.

 

_The day that I first saw tears_

_I couldn't do anything._

_I just gripped your hand._

_Tired from crying, about to fall asleep_

_you_ _turned to me and whispered,_

_"I'm sorry," and smiled a little._

_That's what you were like._

_That’s what you were like._

 

            The lyrics were all too close for comfort, Anshii reflected as she turned Ayomi around on the dance floor. She again remembered the night that she’d thrown herself off of the tower, remembering Utena’s uncharacteristic breakdown after rescuing her. Her eyes refocused on the present, and she saw that Ayomi had a strange look on her face, but when she saw that Anshii was looking at her, she forced a smile.

 

_The reason I couldn't even_

_say_ _"goodbye" properly was that_

_I got the feeling that I'd_

_see_ _you again. Or..._

 

            Anshii looked to Ayomi. “Are you okay…? We don’t have to continue dancing…”

            “No… it’s okay,” Ayomi replied quietly.

 

_The day that I was first scolded_

_I was speechless. I just_

_hung_ _my head in shame._

_You turned your back_

_and_ _left the room._

_And_ _made the same wounds in my heart._

_That's what we were like._

_That’s what we were like._

 

            Anshii tilted her head at Ayomi for a moment, and as the music shifted, she felt Ayomi’s hand grip hers a little tighter. It almost felt, to her, that Ayomi was afraid of falling, clinging to Anshii for support.

            As Juri and Miki watched the two dance, Touga walked up, sipping at a glass. “Just like three years ago…”

            Juri turned to look at him, regarding him with cool eyes. “Not quite, Touga. The roles are reversed.”

            “Do you think Akio will ever let her go?” Miki asked quietly. “Even if Anshii wins… will he cheat again?”

            Juri and Touga turned to look at him, surprise reflected in their faces. “Miki…?” Juri ventured. “How do you know…?”

            Miki looked away. “It’s the only logical answer. Think about it, Juri. Look at them out there…” He turned his gaze to the two girls dancing. “Does Anshii look like someone who would betray Utena without reason? Wouldn’t it stand to reason that Akio made her do it?”

 

_They meet again somewhere today,_

_those_ _two people who understand each other._

_A tale of lost love_

_is_ _repeated again._

            Juri and Touga looked to the two girls. Eyes were locked, they looked alone in the world. Even though Ayomi was slightly taller than Anshii, she seemed smaller somehow, a shadow compared to the personality that shone through the darker girl. It was quite the role reversal, and Juri bit her lip. “Do you remember the curry?”

            Shock snapped through Touga and Miki like an electrical jolt. “You don’t think…” Touga began, but his voice trailed off.

_The reason I couldn't even_

_say_ _"goodbye" properly was that_

_I got the feeling that I'd see_

_you_ _again. Or..._

            “Anshii… is Utena…?” Miki whispered.

 

_They meet again somewhere today,_

_those_ _two people who understand each other._

_A tale of lost love_

_is_ _repeated again._

            Oblivious to the trio’s jump to a conclusion, Anshii and Ayomi danced across the floor, light and dark. Movements were flowing, perfectly controlled, as if they had practiced the choreography of the dance for days before a performance. Ayomi felt as if she'd never been so close to remembering who she was. It danced, just like they did, at the edges of her mind, a fleeting awareness that she’d done this before. Without them realizing it, they’d kept dancing as the song ended and the musicians picked up instruments and began the opening of a well-known song around Ohtori’s campus.

            She knew the music, knew the memory of dancing to it. But she couldn’t recall who she had danced with. She straightened a little, her steps becoming a little more certain, and she watched the startled look in Anshii’s eyes with a little thrill of memory. She’d seen that look before. But when?

 

_She was so angry with them all. She’d show them. She snatched a tablecloth off of a nearby table, tying it around the girl on the floor, pulling her to her feet and into dance frame. The music started, and she turned the startled girl on the dance floor, watching the upset surprise melt into a strange sort of happiness._

_Around and around they danced, the dark-skinned girl in the tablecloth dress finally relaxing enough to take certain steps, even almost laughing at times._

_Anger dissolved very much like the green dress had, and soon both girls were enjoying the dance, to the admiration of some, and irritation to others._

 

            Ayomi blinked, stumbling into Anshii’s sudden and involuntary embrace to steady them both. “Ayomi…?” Anshii asked, concerned.

            Thoroughly expecting Anshii to be wearing a tablecloth, Ayomi looked around. But Anshii wasn’t wearing a tablecloth. And she wasn’t wearing a garish light pink gown with hideous pink roses plastered all over it.

_What was that…? A memory?_

            But the song was over, and she pulled back from Anshii, moving away from the dance floor, looking extremely preoccupied, leaving Anshii to stare after her, wondering what she’d done wrong.

\--

_Scar - Ayumi Hamasaki_


	39. Stillness

            The ball was over, the partygoers long scattered. Anshii and Ayomi were back in their rooms, and yet, Ayomi was standing out on the porch, looking across the reflecting pool. She hadn’t spoken since that last dance, hadn’t bid Anshii goodnight. She just simply wandered out to the porch and leaned against the railing, still fully dressed. Out there on the porch, the moonlight reflected from her gown, and she fairly glowed with an ethereal light.

            Anshii was afraid that she was going to try to throw herself off. She hovered in the open room, watching through the curtains, wondering if she should venture out onto the porch.

            Her indecision was interrupted by the chime of her cellular phone from her bedroom, indicating that she had a voice mail or two. She moved off to the bedroom to pick up the phone, shushing its incessant chiming with a touch of a button. She scanned the screen and saw that she had three voicemails. She’d almost forgotten that she had the phone, true, but she’d only set it aside for the duration of the dance.

            She dialed the voicemail system, keyed her password, and queued up the first message. It was Seneka, from the pet store.

            Anshii had been quite concerned about how she was going to support herself out in the world beyond Ohtori. She needn’t have worried, however, because she was extraordinarily lucky to have taken on at an exotic pet store as the assistant manager when she first escaped Ohtori. A scant two months later, she found herself promoted to manager, largely due to her uncanny ability to read the animals’ mindsets… and as she had virtually no compunction against hard work and was very well-known among the exotic animals circuit (largely from her days on Ohtori’s campus) she managed to purchase the lucrative pet boutique.

            Only a year after that, she’d opened a second one.

            Chuchu, for his part, was thrilled. She let him live in the original shop, and her staff found him very helpful in the day-to-day activity of the pet store. Which critter needed water, which one was out of food… Chuchu loved to check the cages for food and water. It made him feel very officious and important.

            The first voicemail was simply Seneka checking in about those chinchilla for Kunihiro Fujimoto. They had arrived safely and in perfect health.

            The second voicemail was again from Seneka, to tell her that Mister Fujimoto had collected the chinchilla and was very pleased.

            The third voicemail was from her accountant, calling in with the numbers for both stores. Month end had gone well, and with the sale of the extra chinchillas, she’d seen a fourteen percent increase in sales for the month. She pursed her lips, and wondered absently if the second shop had really been such a good idea, but as she keyed to delete the voicemails, she decided to worry about that later. The pet stores were the least of her worries right now.

 

            At length, after another hour of wandering listlessly through the rooms, Anshii took a hesitating step out onto the porch, looking around for Ayomi. The girl in question sat on the edge, skirts pooling on the floor, legs hanging over the ledge, leaning against the railing. She didn’t turn, but she tilted her head and spoke. “I’m sorry…”

            “Sorry?” Anshii asked, putting her arms on the railing and looking out over the trees. The trees blew in the wind, leaves rustling with soft whispers.

            “At the ball… I had… I don’t know… a feeling… while we were dancing. Like I’d done that before…” Ayomi’s voice was quiet, her words slow, as if she deliberately picked through them before she voiced them.

            Anshii took several heartbeats to calm herself, and in a carefully controlled voice, replied. “Well, I would imagine that you’ve danced with someone before.” Suddenly, the trees were extremely interesting. She focused on a few leaves to keep herself under control.

            Ayomi’s voice was distant when she spoke again, and the wind stilled in the trees below, the silenced whispers fading into the night. “That little blonde brat sent a dress. It dissolved when liquid hit it. You wore a white tablecloth that she… I… grabbed and tied around you.”

            Anshii felt as if her heart had risen into her throat. She couldn’t breathe. She slowly turned to look to the girl sitting on the edge of the porch, a stricken look on her face. “Utena…?” She whispered.

            Pink hair turned, and clear blue eyes lifted to terrified green ones. “I don’t know.”


	40. Games

            Mariko rolled over when the door to the bedroom opened. She hadn’t wanted to go to the ball alone, so she had decided to curl up in bed, snuggled in the thick and soft brushed satin sheets. She opened her eyes to see Akio standing there, obviously angry. “Akio…?” In private, within the innermost rooms of the Chairman’s residence, she called him by his name. It was the only place that she dared. Outside, she gave no indications that she was the Chairman’s latest conquest. She was coolly polite to him, distant as a student ought to be, never daring to raise her eyes to his. In the inner rooms of the Chairman’s residence, however… clothing was entirely optional. She hadn’t opted for that tonight.

            At her presence, he snarled something incoherent, and she sat up in the bed, pulling the sheet up modestly around her because the door was open, and if any of his staff were to walk by... “What is it, Akio?” She asked as he stalked into the room and slammed the door behind him. “Did something happen at the ball?” She dropped the sheet, leaning forwards so that the sheet fell and revealed her lack of clothing.

            He sat on the edge of the bed, eyes dark and angry, and snarled at her. “Get out.”

            She arched an eyebrow, but didn’t move to leave the room. Instead, she pushed her hair back and out of her eyes, looking at him knowingly. “You don’t mean that, Akio. Someone pissed you off, and I imagine that it was your sister. What did she do?”

            He moved so fast that she almost didn’t see him. Suddenly, he was beside her, and his hand was painfully gripping her arm. Shoving her hard, so that she would end up off of the bed and onto the floor, he repeated himself. “Get. Out.” It wasn’t a request. It was a command, given in the dark voice of End of the World.

            She used his weight to her advantage, releasing the sheets that would undoubtedly tumble along with her and pulling against him in order to stay on the bed. She rolled over on the bed, pulling her arm out of his hand and landed, facing him. “I won’t,” she said firmly. Starting to stalk him on all fours, crawling up the bed, she smiled seductively at him. “What you need is an… outlet… for your anger.” She was almost on top of him now, and his eyes narrowed as he leaned back to keep her face away from his. His eyes flashed a brilliant green in anger as he looked at her.

            She lacked the power that he had, lacked the finesse. But if she wanted to play the game… well, who was he to refuse? He’d play along. The diversion could be amusing.

            He allowed his body language to change, allowed the smile to twist across his lips. “Do I, now? And are you going to give me that… outlet…?”

            She had climbed on top of him now, long red hair spilling across her back, falling all around them. “I think…” she breathed, “that I can come up with a few… ideas on how to… release your anger…” Her lips found his, and he allowed her to kiss him, felt her teeth against his lips, felt her tongue search for his.

            Suddenly, his right hand came up, fingers embedding in her hair, twisting, pulling, and yanking her over with a predatory sort of ease. He pinned her to the bed now, one hand on one of her arms, holding her down. She didn’t yell like he had expected, but instead she licked her lips at him, and the anger in his eyes burst into something else as he purred at her. “Do you like it rough, little tiger? I’ll show you how the game is really played…” He leaned down, eyes glittering as he kissed her hard on the lips. Her answer was to twine the fingers of her free hand into his hair, pushing him to her.

 

            Several hours later, if anyone had been outside of Ohtori’s dormitories, they would have seen a man wearing a strange white uniform carrying someone across the central courtyard, up to a darkened dormitory, and into the building.

 

            Akio closed the dorm room door behind him. He didn’t look back as he walked down the hallway, absently brushing off the cuffs of his white Duelist’s Uniform. She had indeed served as an outlet for his anger. Mariko was of no use to him now.


	41. Nightmare

            She was standing in a room that she didn’t recognize. For some reason, she was wearing her Rose Bride gown and there was terror in her heart, terror in the air. She was terrified, and she had no idea why. Confused and trembling, she turned around and around, looking about the room.

            The floor was hard and white, a soft rose-colored Ohtori Rose painted on it, stretching almost from one end to the other. She eventually recognized it as the Dueling Platform. But what was she doing on the Dueling Platform? There wasn’t a duel scheduled. And why was she so frightened?

            There was a whisper, a low and almost metallic whisper just below where she could hear. Focusing her attention on the voices, she could make out the single word that was repeated over and over. “Witch.”

            Witch? What witch?

 

            She turned, looking for a witch, or anything that vaguely resembled a pointy hat, but found nothing.

 

             She watched as swords circled around the platform, saw a shadow spilling out and away from her. It was a strange shadow, the dress silhouetted, but nothing else. No arms, no shoulders… not even a head.

            She moved, testing the shadow. It moved as she did, but she didn’t see any evidence of herself in the dress.

            Her stomach felt queasy.

 

            A sound behind her gave her cause to turn, and she spun around, hands going to her throat as she saw a figure suspended in the air some distance away. It looked like Anshii… but she’d never seen eyes as soulless as those. As she watched, a sword struck her, piercing through to protrude from the other side. And yet, there was no indication that the impact was felt.

            To the side, she saw someone spilled on the floor, a girl with pink hair wearing a black long-sleeved jacket. Every time a sword struck the suspended figure, the one on the ground writhed.

            Ayomi felt her stomach flip. What was this… nightmare? Why was Anshii hanging in the air to be stabbed by swords, and why was the woman on the ground writhing in pain?

 

            Darkness collapsed all around her. She fell, landing hard somewhere that felt cramped and closed in. She reached out, and her hand ran into something cold and unyielding. She pushed; it didn’t move. Little by little she worked out that she was lying in a box.  _A box…_  she reached up with both arms and pushed.

            A crack formed off to the side, and she pushed again, heartened by the dim light. She she’d made enough room to climb out, she did.

            She was standing in a church.

            She’d just climbed out of a coffin.

            Her stomach lurched again.

 

            A hand touched her arm and she turned to see Akio standing there. His white shirt was open down the front, his hair loose and flowing. He had a smile on his face that made her skin crawl, and when he reached for her, she backed into the coffin. She didn’t want him to touch her. There was something about his touch… something about him. He was… evil.

            She broke around him, bursting into a run across the nave of the church. She didn’t know where she was going, but she darted around the chancel, through the door and into the hallway that she’d walked before.

            She ran past the stained glass murals, terror in her throat, and burst through the door at the end.

 

            A dimly lit red-carpeted room greeted her, with a wide staircase at the side.

            Two little girls clung to each other in the darkness, the darker one wearing a shapeless red dress, the other wearing a black jumper over a white shirt.

            She paused to catch her breath, and realized that she was still wearing the cumbersome Rose Bride gown. Unable to understand, she approached the little girls, shrieking in fear when she bounced off of a barrier that she hadn’t seen.

            The girls didn’t look at her, and she moved towards the barrier again, gasping at a pain in her right side. She put her left hand to the area, feeling a warm dampness and pulling her hand away to see blood. The red crept across the white bodice of her gown, and she sank to her knees amidst the crinoline and satin.

            She stared at her fingers, sick to her stomach, the pain rising against her awareness. There was a metallic sound, and she looked up to see Akio standing there with a bloodied sword in his hands.

 

            She sat up, gasping for breath, hand clutching her side. Yes, it was damp, but it was only perspiration. Throwing off the bedcovers, she darted for the bathroom and threw up.

            Only a nightmare.

            Only a nightmare.

            But… why had it felt so real…?


	42. Deviations

            The morning at Ohtori campus started just as normal as you please. It was nothing more than a typical day in the elite school.

            Until the Matron of the Seido Hall unlocked the third door on the second floor and entered the dorm room for the monthly inspection. Her scream had been clearly heard across the common area.

 

            Seido Hall had been evacuated, and both the Student Council and the Chairman were summoned in addition to the local authorities.

            Students circled around the entrance, trying to find out what had happened, but were sent on their way to class by the burly gym instructor. Juri and Miki, not having classes that early, had been called to assist in containing those students who did not have class, and Juri was busy ordering students to line up and keep quiet.

            Miki caught Anshii as she approached, and pulled her aside. “Anshii… you don’t want to come over here. You’re not involved, so go back to your room and keep track of Ayomi.”

            Anshii frowned. “What’s going on, Miki? What’s happened over there?” Green eyes cast a glance over Miki’s shoulder, seeing Juri angrily tell a student to get back into line.

            “There’s been a… problem… in a student’s dorm. Mariko Kunihita is dead.”

            Anshii gasped, looking back to Miki. “Dead! But…” Her voice trailed off, and she looked at Miki helplessly. “How…?”

            Miki shook his head. “We don’t know yet. But Miss Kanazaki found her this morning during her normal room inspections.”

            “Miki…” Anshii said quietly. “She wasn’t at the ball last night. You don’t think…?”

            “Kaoru! I could do with some assistance,” Juri called, using Miki’s family name for pointed emphasis. Miki looked back to Juri and nodded, then turned to Anshii. “Keep her safe, Anshii. You’re the only one who can.”

            As Anshii watched in shock, Miki turned and walked back over to the group of students that Juri was overseeing and began to direct some of them into another area.

 

            Back in the dorm room, Ayomi was frowning at her Chemistry book. She had a quiz today, but she wasn’t ready for it. She didn’t particularly care for the class, and when an envelope was slipped under the door, she welcomed the opportunity to get away from electrons and charges.

            Leaving her book open on the table, she stood and walked over, cracking open the door to perhaps see who had left the note. Seeing no sign of anyone, she closed the door and picked up the envelope.

            The script was neat,  Anshii’s name written in black ink on the front. On the back, a seal that she didn’t recognize. She set the letter on the table and looked at her Chemistry textbook. She didn’t want to go back to her studies. Her mind was far from school, still wandering through her nightmare. Those images, the things that she had seen still haunted her. And for some reason today, her scar ached.

            It was all connected. It had to be.

 

            The door was flung open rather unceremoniously, and Ayomi spun to see Anshii standing there, out of breath. “Ayomi! Good, you’re safe. You’re staying out of classes today.”

            Ayomi blinked. “But… I have a quiz… in Chemistry…” She pointed to her Chemistry book. “I have to go…”

            Anshii closed the door behind her, looking grimly at the other girl. “I doubt there will be classes shortly. Mariko Kunihita is dead.”

            Ayomi clung to the chair she was standing next to. “Dead…? But… how…?” The world wobbled. Students didn’t just die, did they? Especially not bright and popular ones…

            “What’s this…?” Anshii asked, her eyes falling on the note.

            “Oh… um… someone pushed that under the door. Just a little while ago…” Ayomi felt disconnected, as if there was a vast distance between herself and the world.

            Anshii picked it up, turning it over to look at the seal. She felt the blood rush from her face. The Ohtori Family seal… The stylized ‘O’ that Kanae used in all of her official documents. The same seal that Akio Ohtori used after he married her.

            She flipped the envelope over and looked at the writing on the front. It was definitely Kanae’s handwriting. Ever so carefully, she popped the seal away from the paper and took out the note within.

 

           _I’m next, Anshii Himemiya. And then he’ll come after you._

            Anshii’s eyes widened, and she grabbed Ayomi’s wrist, still clutching the note. “Come on, we have to move quickly!” She dragged the unresisting girl out of the dorm room, and the two of them ran for the dormitory building doors as if the devil himself were behind them.


	43. Terror

            Anshii and Ayomi ran quickly past the busy Seido Hall, across the common area, through the courtyard and into the Rose Annex leading to the Rose Tower. As they ran, Anshii explained who the letter was from, what it had said, and why they were heading to the Rose Tower. “Kanae Ohtori,” Anshii said, “is Akio’s wife. She’s the true Ohtori heir… not Akio. My brother only married her because she had power. She, I think, loved him… at least, at first.”

            “At first…?” Ayomi echoed, questioning the turn of phrase.

            They came to a stop at the elevator, and Anshii pushed the button. “It’s conjecture, of course, but I think that he bullied her after a while. I think he threatened her into complacency, and she’s hidden in her rooms since last year from what I heard.” She could hear the elevator on descent.

            “When I was living here, she didn’t think much of me. I know she hated me because I took away Akio’s attentions… but after a while, I didn’t seem to matter anymore. I think that’s when Akio started to bully her.”

            The elevator doors opened, and the two girls entered. As the doors slid shut, Anshii pressed a button for a floor, and then entered a code on the keypad below it. An affirmative chime was heard, and the elevator started to rise smoothly.

            “She hasn’t changed her security code… that’s odd.” Anshii murmured as they traveled upwards. “Her rooms are on a different floor from Akio’s… and she gave me the code to access them once when she wanted me to visit her to apologize for her behavior. I imagined that she had changed them since I left the school, but…”

            The doors opened, and a darkened foyer stretched into shadows. Hesitantly, the girls stepped out and looked around.

            “Kanae?” Anshii called. She tucked the note in her pocket and motioned for Ayomi to follow her as she crossed the room towards the huge double doors that led into Kanae’s private residence.

            Silence hung thick in the air, and Ayomi instantly grabbed Anshii’s arm. “There’s something wrong… Anshii, I’m terrified.” It felt just like it had in her nightmare. She didn’t know why, but she knew that she was going to find out.

            Anshii bumped the doors open with her toes, frowning slightly that they weren’t latched. She found that odd, as Kanae had struck her as the type of person to be meticulous about things. “Don’t… touch anything…”

 

            They worked their way through an open dining area, winding around a half-wall and into a living room with perfect furniture and pristine walls. Silence pervaded through everything, and it seemed that not even their own footsteps made sound.

            “Kanae…?” Anshii called again, her voice seeming muffled by the thick silence, and Ayomi began to feel lightheaded, as if she was going to fall over in a dead faint if she didn’t hear something normally.

            The bedroom door was slightly ajar, and when Anshii pushed lightly against it with her foot, it creaked open.

            There was sound in here, a ceiling fan whirring overhead, the sound of rushing water in the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom. The sounds were normal, and Ayomi felt more at ease, reasoning that Kanae was in the shower, and that’s why she hadn’t heard them.

            Anshii motioned for Ayomi to wait for a moment, and then knocked on the bathroom door.

            The door swung open at Anshii’s knock, and worried, Anshii stuck her head into the bathroom. “Kanae…?”

            Kanae Ohtori was slumped in the bottom of the shower, fully clothed, pale, and bloodless.

            Anshii rushed into the bathroom, but even as she did so, she knew it was too late. She didn’t touch a thing, didn’t say a thing. She turned and slipped back out of the bathroom and looked at Ayomi. “We need to call the authorities. Please don’t touch anything.” She pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and dialed the emergency number.

 

            Ayomi reeled. As Anshii spoke to someone, she tiptoed towards the bathroom and looked in. Her stomach flipped, but she kept going. She had to know.

            A quick look told her what she needed. Kanae must have turned on the shower, slit her wrists, and waited for her body to be found after Anshii had gotten the letter.

            Ayomi swallowed and stepped back out of the bathroom to look at Anshii. “Why would she kill herself, Anshii?”

            The look that Anshii gave her was an odd little look. “I’m not so sure she did.”


	44. Reaction

            The Student Council room was silent. Rika sat at her place with a vacant stare. Izumi and Keuseke each sat in silence, the harsh reality of Mariko’s absence a sharp contrast to the cozy little world that they’d been living within.

            Izumi leaned forward and looked at Rika. “I’m sorry, Rika, but I have to say this. I’m afraid you were right.” He turned the photo of Mariko and looked at it sadly. “I think she may have done something to anger End of the World.”

            Rika gave Izumi a frantic and pained look before bursting into tears. She grabbed at the nearby box of tissues and cried herself into silence, anger gradually overtaking pain and sorrow. She recalled how different Mariko had looked that morning when she’d been late. She heard the words of the letter that Mariko had brought, heard the tone with which End of the World had chided them, and with every thought, she got angrier and angrier.

 

            The silence stretched on until, at length, Rika had stewed long enough, and all of her pent-up emotion exploded. She slammed her hand down on the table with enough force to make the framed photo of Mariko bounce and fall over.

            “Damn it all!”

            Keuseke and Izumi looked at her, startled. “Rika…” Izumi started, but undaunted, she continued.

            “Don’t you see? He did this! End of the World! We’re nothing more than pawns in his sadistic little game,” Rika cried, brown eyes sparking with fury. “We’re bound by these.. things!” She glared at her ring, yanking it off of her finger. “These rings,” she shook hers at the boys. “We shouldn’t be wearing these. This isn’t what and who we are! We’re children, playing at an adult game that we don’t belong in.” She tossed her ring onto the table, glaring at it as it rolled on its edge to a stop and fell over, the rose facing her as if mocking her.

            Keuseke sat back in his chair, sullen. “We aren’t children, Rika. That’s why we’re chosen to participate.”

            “Listen to you!” Rika shouted, and Izumi wondered how far her voice was carrying. “Izumi’s fifteen. I’m only fourteen. You’re sixteen, Keuseke, and so was Mariko!” Her voice faded to a whisper. “She’s dead… she was only sixteen years old...”

            Izumi felt uncomfortable. In a way, Rika was right. They weren’t adults, they weren’t supposed to have to look Death into the eyes and try to figure out how to keep living. Mariko should have been flirting with every male in the school, trying on makeup for the first time, worrying about dates to school dances.

            “In the… light… of recent… events… perhaps…” Izumi started quietly. “Maybe we should…”

            “I’m disbanding the Student Council,” Keuseke said without warning. “We’ve failed the students and the faculty by becoming more interested in the Duels than in the school.”

            Izumi and Rika stared at him, all anger evaporating into shock. “But… Keuseke… now, more than ever, we need to stick together. We’re under…” Izumi didn’t want to sound alarmist, but he couldn’t find any better way to put it. “We’re under attack by End of the World. If he’s the one who has killed Mariko… who is to say someone else won’t die?”

            Rika paled, her hand going to her mouth. “We should do something to keep the students safe… we need to think.”

            “Fine. You think. I am going to find Counselor Kiryuu and tell him that I plan to disband the Student Council in light of its recent failure to protect the students.” Keuseke stood.

            Suddenly, something connected in Rika’s mind. “Kiryuu! Oh, Nanami! She was the first one to be attacked!” Horror filled her eyes. “Do you… you don’t… did End of the World attack her too?”

            Silence filled the room again, and Izumi looked to Rika, disturbed. He hadn’t seen that. It hadn’t occurred to him that End of the World might have been controlling her. But that black ring… “I’ll call the hospital and see what her condition is.”

            Keuseke and Izumi both left the room, Rika still in her seat, staring blankly at the photograph of Mariko which smiled back at her, as if it knew all the secrets.


	45. Fury

            The entire school suddenly found itself in total disarray. Two deaths in a single day, both on campus. Everywhere Anshii looked, students were huddled together, pale and silent, tears streaking down their cheeks.

            She and Ayomi were slumped at a table in the Dining Hall, having just been questioned by the authorities that Anshii had called to the Rose Tower. Ayomi had her head on the table, sobbing, but Anshii found no tears to cry.

            Instead, she found anger.

            Riding high on that anger, she left Ayomi sobbing at the table and went around looking for a Student Council member. She found Izumi standing by the Rose Garden and looked at him calmly.

            “Izumi Nakamima, I have to ask you a very indelicate question,” Anshii started, and he turned to look at her. There were no tears in his eyes, only shock. Without waiting for a reply, she continued. “What was Mariko involved in? What had she been doing lately?”

            Izumi shook his head, turning to look at the roses through the glass. “She’d changed. After you defeated her, she turned wild. She was getting letters personally from End of the World… she’d go out all night and sleep through classes. Keuseke was beside himself because she wasn’t doing her duties as a Student Council member. And now he wants to disband the Student Council entirely.”

            Anshii put her hand on his arm. “Izumi, don’t let him do that. You need each other now more than ever.” She knew now what had happened. It was beyond shadow of a doubt that Akio was behind both deaths. She was going to have to end things herself, change the rules, and challenge Akio. It was the only way to keep more people from dying.

            “Anshii… you know who he is, don’t you? You know who End of the World is, and you know how he’s connected,” Izumi said quietly, looking at her with sharp blue eyes.

            She nodded in reply. “I know who he is, Izumi. I’m afraid that Mariko may have gotten caught up in one of his little games. Kanae may well have as well. Nanami… well, he got to her too. But I’m the Dueling Champion, and I am the only one who can get close enough to end this mess.”

            Izumi flinched, but recalled the anguish in Rika’s eyes when he himself had admitted to her that he thought End of the World had been behind Mariko’s death. “Anshii Himemiya… As a Duelist to the Dueling Champion, goodluck. As Mariko’s friend… I want you to kick his ass and make him pay dearly for this.”

            Anshii’s smile was brittle. “I intend to make him pay dearly. For Mariko, Kanae, Nanami, and several others, including myself. Keep in mind that I was once the Rose Bride. There are a great many things that I know.”

            As if the air around them both had chilled, Izumi shivered and nodded. “What can I do?”

            She pondered, looking across the common area and seeing Ayomi walking slowly towards them both, the girl’s arms clutched to herself. With a soft sigh, Anshii waved to the girl. “Get with Rika and Keuseke, then go find these three people.” She handed him a slip of paper. “Tell them that I sent you three. Find somewhere off-campus to go, and stay there until you hear the bells. If I don’t meet you at the entrance to Ohtori… none of you six are to step foot on Ohtori’s campus again. Go to the address on the back of the paper and ask Seneka to open the letter under the register.” When Izumi promised to do just that, Anshii turned to meet Ayomi and immediately turned them both towards her dorm.

 

            It didn’t take Izumi long to find and convince the other Student Council members to come with him. It was equally as easy to find the faculty members that Anshii had written on the notepaper. Miki Karou, Juri Arisagawa, and Touga Kiryuu were still near the Seido Hall. When Izumi explained to everyone what Anshii had said, the three faculty members turned to look at the forest behind the Rose Tower.

            “So. It’s starting, then.” Touga remarked quietly.

            Miki sighed. “I’m worried…”

            Juri shook her head. “She told us to go somewhere safe. Let’s go down to the corner café. We’ll be able to hear the bells from there.”

            The little group turned and left the campus, walking quietly down the road to the town not too far away.


	46. Devil

            Anshii Himemiya looked into her mirror and after a moment of inspection, decided that she liked what she saw. She stood there, in her red Dueling Uniform, hair pulled back into a ponytail that tumbled down her back. It wasn’t a braid like Juri could have done, but it would do. It wasn’t worth risking Juri’s safety just to have her hair braided.

            Ayomi stood nearby, blue eyes still watery with tears as she worried at Anshii. “Are you sure this is the right thing to do? If you’re next on his list…” She wrung her hands, unable to complete her thought.

            “All the more reason to go to him. Ayomi, I’m not afraid of him. I know who and what he is, I know what he is capable of.” She fixed her collar and looked at Ayomi through the mirror. “It’s time. Let’s go.”

 

            The walk across campus was quick, as most of the students had been sent to their dorm rooms for safety. Only a few moved about from here to there, and no-one stopped Anshii and Ayomi as they entered the Rose Tower.

            Anshii keyed a code into the elevator, and they began the ascent.

 

            The doors opened on the Dueling Platform, and as they exited the elevator, Ayomi’s clothing shifted into the white gown that she’d grown to dislike. A scarlet rose and a brilliant gold chain shimmered into existence on Anshii’s uniform, and her green eyes settled on Akio standing off to the side, his white uniform a mockery of what he had once worn as Dios.

            “Akio. Himemiya. Ohtori. End of the World. Brother.” Anshii listed his names aloud without pausing. “You are hereby challenged to the Final Duel. It’s time that I undid the mistake that I made.”

            A sneer crept across Akio’s lips. “You think that you have the abilities to defeat me? Your precious Utena didn’t have what it took, or have you conveniently forgotten that?”

            “You don’t have me to hide behind any longer.” She reached out to Ayomi. “Ayomi…”

            The Rose Bride arched back, Anshii catching her in her outstretched arm and calling forth the Sword of Dios. She pulled the blade away from Ayomi and held it aloft. There was a flash, and the castle above awoke to the sword’s call.

            Akio glared at Anshii, his own sword in hand. “You little idiot. Do you think this is a game, like she did?”

            Anshii’s answer was to rush him in an attack, leaving Ayomi suddenly to catch herself and look across the platform in fear.

 

            Akio defended, but only out of sheer reflex. Anshii’s attacks were powerful, and she had managed to surprise him. But he knew how to turn that around… “What do you think you’ll find in here, Anshii? Do you think you’ll find Utena?” He blocked an incoming thrust, parried another. “You yourself said she’d left this world.”

            Anshii scowled, moving to the side to avoid Akio’s sword and snapped a reply. “If I don’t find her, at least I’ll have finally corrected my error of thinking that you were a worthy prince!”

            He side-stepped, letting Anshii run right past him. “My, my… and here I recall it as I was the one who thought that you were the goddess who had sacrificed herself to protect me.”

            Anshii came to a halt, spun and held the Sword of Dios in front of her. “At the price of corrupting your soul.”

            Akio came bearing down on Anshii and she had to step sideways and backwards repeatedly, sensing that she was coming close to both Ayomi and the edge of the Dueling Platform. “Where is your strength little sister? We’ve hardly begun. Will I defeat you so easily? What will you do then, I wonder?”

            With his last words, he twisted his sword against hers, and to her horror, the Sword of Dios flipped out of her hands, flying off to the side and spinning to a stop at Ayomi’s feet.

 

            Ayomi hadn’t made heads or tails of the conversation around the sword blades, but when she saw the Sword of Dios land at her feet, she reflexively reached down to pick it up. When she stood up and looked over to the combatants, her blood froze and her heart leapt to her throat.

            Akio was standing over Anshii, his sword raised.

            He was going to kill her.


	47. Crisis

            The world seemed to come to a stop.

            Ayomi blinked, and suddenly, she was standing in the church, the coffin just off to the side. The coffin. That person in there was trying to protect the Rose Bride. And if that person’s Rose Bride was Anshii… she ran over to the coffin, not noticing that the Sword of Dios was missing from her hands.

            She knocked on the coffin lid, calling desperately to the person inside. “Hello…? Hello…? I need your help! Please, you have to help me!”

            “Go away,” came the quiet reply.

            “Please…!” Ayomi began to push at the lid, forcing it to open inch by painful inch. “You have to help! She’s in trouble!”

            Little by little the lid started to shift at her insistence. It was so heavy that as she was pushing against it, she felt the heels of her high heeled shoes giving.

            “As long as I stay in here, the Rose Bride is safe.” The voice was quiet, distant. It almost sounded as if the person inside were in a trance.

            “No, she isn’t!” Ayomi cried, feeling the tears prickle in her eyes again. So much pain, so much death… her scar was hurting as she pushed the coffin’s lid, trying to get a glimpse of the person inside. “Please…” Her strength was starting to ebb, the coffin lid moving less and less as she pushed at it. She wasn’t strong enough. She collapsed against the coffin, the lid open only a few inches. “He’s killed them both… Kanae… Mariko… They’re both dead because of him… and now… now he’s going to kill Anshii…” she sobbed.

            The lid shifted. Through her tears, Ayomi could see the lid was slowly opening, and she lifted her head to see a slender and pale hand curled around the edge of the coffin. As she stood, the person inside the coffin uncurled and looked out at her without sitting up.

            It was a young woman with bright blue eyes and hair the exact same shade of pink as her own. Somehow, she knew that this was Utena, that this was who she was supposed to be. She sniffed valiantly, and looked at the other who was also herself. “I… we have to do something.” She extended her hand to the one in the coffin. “You can’t hide here anymore.”

            “But the pain…” Utena whispered, looking at Ayomi.

            Utena had known Ayomi was there, she’d created her herself. She had given an innocence to the girl that she had hoped would never be broken. That day, when she’d lost her grip on Anshii’s hand, she’d made the last-minute decision to become the Rose Bride in Anshii’s place. She’d live within the coffin and protect Anshii as long as she lived. She’d shut herself away and allowed Akio to awaken the girl to be called Ayomi, knowing that everything would be safe for Anshii.

            She’d never dreamed that Anshii would come back to Ohtori for her.

 

            Ayomi held out her hand again. “We’ll live with the pain. Anshii is too important.”

            Utena smiled sadly as she sat up and took Ayomi’s hand. She tilted her head and looked at the girl sadly. “I’m sorry…”

            Ayomi felt strangely as if she was going home. The world was fading, changing. As she felt herself shimmer, she shook her head. “I’m not. This was what I was meant to do.”

 

            Utena Tenjou stepped out of the coffin and looked at the ring on the floor. Had Ayomi… been…? She reached down and picked up the shiny silver ring, looking at it carefully. After a moment, she kissed the ring and slipped it onto her finger. Power swirled away from her, and she felt the Sword of Dios in her hand, saw the Dueling Platform come into focus, saw Akio begin to bring the sword down on a terrified Anshii who had nowhere to go because her back was to the retaining wall of the Dueling Platform.

            She leapt forwards, towards them, sword outstretched.

            “Himemiya!”


	48. Recrudescence

            Anshii saw the wild anger in Akio’s eyes as he raised his sword. She’d failed. He would end it all right now, destroy her. Her life hadn’t been too bad for these past few years, she supposed. She took a deep breath, trying to fight the terror that had risen within her, and looked him straight in the eyes, determined not to let him see her fear.

            And then the world fell apart.

 

            “Himemiya! Himemiya!!!”

            A white and pink blur shot between her and Akio, a deafening clang of metal against metal. All she could see was white, but before she could realize what had just happened, the crinolines and white satin that had been in her face vanished.

            Akio had jumped back, a mixture of astonishment and terror on his face as he stared at the individual who had come between himself and certain victory.

 

            Between Akio and Anshii, the power of Dios swirling tangibly around her was a tall figure in a black jacket with white skirting, red shorts peeking out from under the white trim. Long pink hair flowed in the breeze formed by the sheer anger extending from the woman, and the Sword of Dios flashed brightly as she held it high.

            “You bastard!” Came an angry voice tinged with anguish. The figure advanced on Akio, punctuating words with thrusts of the sword. “You know the Laws of the Rose Seal. You wrote them. ‘Take the Rose, not the Life.’ Are you so above the very rules that you wrote with your own hand?”

 

            Akio dodged and parried the sword-thrusts, working through his shock. That wasn’t Ayomi. “What…? How…?”

            She pressed her attack, forcing him farther and farther away from Anshii. “What and how don’t matter right now, Akio. What matters to me is that you leave Anshii and myself alone.”

            Behind both fighters, still barely able to believe it, Anshii managed to get to her feet in amazement and murmured a name. “Utena…” Her heart held emotions that she didn’t dare voice.

            The woman glanced back, and in that moment, Anshii could see the blue eyes of her friend, those eyes she had so desperately wanted to see again. So many things bubbled to the surface, so many things to say, to do… but Akio! Her attention shifted from Utena back to Akio. “Utena, look out!”

            In that short time that Utena had looked back, Akio had reasserted himself, pulling on the weak powers that he had and forcing his will back onto the Dueling Platform. He moved sideways, catching the Sword of Dios with his, trying to turn his blade to flip the sword out of her hands. She didn’t yield, the blade firmly in her hand.

            “That’s it,” Utena growled, eyes flashing brilliant blue. “It’s time. Let’s end this right here, Akio.” Stepping backwards, she caught Anshii’s hand and threw the Sword of Dios high into the air.

            Akio started to laugh. “You voluntarily disarmed yourself? Are you giving up? How… noble.” The laugh turned maniacal, and as Anshii watched in horror, her clothing changed. Utena’s did as well, and suddenly, they were both Rose Brides, one scarlet, one white. Anshii’s stomach sank. Akio would win. Without the Sword of Dios, Utena was just a girl. Akio would defeat them without having to try.

            High above, the castle vanished.

            Anshii clung to Utena in sheer terror.

 

            A blast of percussive power rocked the Dueling Platform, and Anshii and Utena both staggered. Anshii felt certain that it had been Akio’s power that had rocked the platform, and made the castle vanish.

 

            Akio advanced on the girls, and Anshii winced reflexively. Utena, however, held fast and glared at him. As such, Anshii almost missed the look of shock on his face as Akio froze as a voice called to him from behind.

            “Leave them alone, Akio Ohtori. Your Duel, the Final Duel, is with me.”

 

            As Akio turned, Anshii’s heart burst with joy.

          A youth stood behind Akio, short lavender hair ruffled, long cape flipping in the gentle breeze of power, holding the Sword of Dios easily in one hand.

          It was Dios himself.


	49. Paradox

            Akio stared at the impossibility. His was the Final Duel… but his opponent was… “You?” He snarled. “The Final Duel is with you? A pathetic memory of a long-dead persona?” The sword in his hand shifted, became a darker metal version of Dios’ sword.

            Dios smiled thinly. “I am neither memory, nor pathetic. Guard yourself, Akio. The Duel begins.” Without further elaboration, Dios took three quick successive steps and the duel had begun.

 

            Anshii watched as they went back and forth at each other, at times moving so fast that she couldn’t keep track. She and Utena stood transfixed by the fierceness of the fighting.

            Akio thrust and Dios parried. Dios thrust, and Akio parried. It was like watching a person fight with a mirror. But every once in a while, Anshii noted, Akio faltered.

 

            Akio was on the defensive and he knew it. He’d been defeated once by a fraction of this purity, and he could feel the light of Dios chipping away at his mental barriers. He had to resist, he had to fight… he… he… he!

 

            He was standing inside the castle, just as he used to when he visited his past self. Only, the Sphere of the Sleeping Prince was gone. In its place stood the youth knew to be Dios.

            Eyes that held none of the animosity than their older counterparts held rose to meet his, and a jolt ran through him. Dios was indeed alive and well. He’d been alive the entire time, had seen everything that Akio had done, noted it and waited. A creeping sort of despair fell across him as he looked to the youth.

            “Akio… child of darkness. Created by the cold anger that enveloped the soul when an innocent person was harmed by vindictive hands.” Dios’ voice was gentle as he walked circles around Akio. “You didn’t start out intending to become the malevolent figure that you are now.”

            Dios waved his hand, and Akio saw scenes as Dios must have seen them so long ago. He saw Anthy slip outside of the barn, saw her close the door and lean against it, speaking to the villagers. His stomach tied in knots as he saw them attack her, saw her fall. He’d tried to forget that he hadn’t seen it happen. He’d only seen the aftermath.

            He watched as he himself limped out of the barn. Watched as he picked up the broken slip of a girl, anger clouding all reason. He saw himself carry her away after throwing words at the stunned villagers.

            Dios looked to him. “It was terrible to watch. It must have been worse to live through it.”

            Akio grudgingly acknowledged that it had been horrible.

            Dios turned and with a wave, showed Akio something new. A little girl lay in a coffin. It was clearly a much younger Utena, and as Akio watched, Utena’s own pure sorrow gave Dios the chance to act. He watched as Dios showed the girl the truth, the soul of his sister suspended by swords even as her physical body languished.

            “She was the choice, Akio. She is the one who had the ability to break the pain, break the sorrow. And yet…” Dios turned to look to Akio. “You chose to keep the pain, to twist the anger. She came to the school, as she would with the ring. And you rejected what was come to be.”

            Akio remained defiantly silent. Dios shook his head regretfully and sighed. “Akio… you’ve lost. You came here the moment I took your rose.”

 

            He was standing in the Dueling Platform, teeth clenched and eyes narrowed. Dios stood against him, the tip of his golden sword embedded in the rose at Akio’s chest.

 

            Anshii’s breath caught in her throat. She’d scarcely believed it when she saw Akio freeze as Dios brought his blade up from underneath, twist sideways to avoid Akio’s sword and impale the deep purple rose on Akio’s chest.

            As Dios pulled his sword back, the rose dissolved into the wind. But the bells didn’t ring. Instead, there was deathly silence as Akio fell to his knees.

            Akio had lost.

            It was over.


	50. Gates

             In the sudden stillness, Anshii blinked. Both Dios and Akio were gone, and only she and Utena remained on the platform. Anshii looked at Utena curiously. When she looked back, the Rose Gate stood prominently on the far side of the platform.

            A glass coffin lay in the center of the arena, and with hands still clasped, Utena and Anshii approached it.

            They both looked in and saw someone that looked to be Akio. Utena’s hand disentangled from Anshii’s, and she rested both hands in fists on the top of the coffin.

            “He won’t ever bother you again.”

            Anshii and Utena spun to see Dios standing there, a sad smile on his face. Anshii moved towards him, but he shook his head.

            “No… I won’t be here much longer. Once you two go through the Rose Gate…” He looked at it in the distance.

            Utena clenched her fists tighter. “I’ve gone through Hell to finally come face-to-face with you. Do you think I’m going to let you go now?”

            Dios’ eyes widened as Anshii nodded. “You are my brother. I’m simply not going to leave you to fade into the darkness forever.”

            Dios shook his head. “The only way for me to go with you is if I… become him.” He pointed to the coffin.

            Utena looked at him. “And?”

            Anshii looked from Utena to Dios. “I can live with that. I miss my brother.”

            Dios shook his head. “After everything that he has done? I don’t want to take his place. I don’t want to walk in that world again.”

            “We need your light!” Anshii blurted out. “The world needs you, Dios! Don’t you fall for that same crap! You are light and hope and everything that this world needs. Everything that I need… everything that I lost the day I sealed you away.” Tears suddenly fell down her cheeks, and she sank to the floor, red skirts and crinoline pooling around her.

            Unable to watch his sister in pain, Dios moved to her, reaching out and pulling her to him as he used to do when they were younger. “Anshii… Anshii… I’m sorry. It was my fault for not listening to you. Hope became despair because I didn’t listen.”

            Utena wasn’t finished. “So will you listen now? Or will you turn away from us both and vanish forever?”

            Dios looked at Utena, shocked into silence. As he watched, Utena’s gown glittered, shifted, and became her school uniform.

            “No, you don’t want to take Akio’s place. But I’m guessing that if you… become… him,” she pointed to the coffin, “you’ll still be yourself, only grown older. In that case, being Akio’s mirror, you’re his twin.”

            A light glittered in Dios’ eyes as he listened. In his arms, his sister had stopped shaking with tears.

            “So you come back with us as Dios Himemiya. Akio Ohtori is gone, fled from the authorities after the murders of Kanae Ohtori and Mariko Kunihita… yes, he did it, we all know it…” Utena stopped and looked at the two on the floor. “I’ll finally get to meet my prince, and Anshii gets her brother back.”

            Anshii looked up at Dios with wide eyes. “It could work…” she whispered hopefully. “With Kanae and Akio both gone, Ohtori falls to me. It was part of Kanae’s caveat on the marriage. We could fix the school, undo what Akio has done. Ohtori can shine again like it used to.”

            Dios thought about it. To exist in the world again… he nodded. “We’ll try it your way.”

            Utena grinned and winked at Anshii. “I knew you’d see it our way. What should we do?”

            Dios stood and walked over to the coffin. “Open the coffin.” And with those words, he vanished.

 

            The figure inside the coffin opened his eyes and Anshii scrambled to her feet to help Utena push the coffin open.

            When he sat up and pushed his hair out of his eyes, they both knew at once that it was Dios and not Akio. With a little half-laugh, he looked at them. “I’d forgotten… how sweet the air is…”

            Anshii burst into tears again, and Utena reached out and pulled her into a hug. Startled, Anshii hugged her back and heard Dios climb out of the coffin. As she stepped back, she looked around. “But… the swords…?”

            Dios’ eyes hardened for a moment. “Akio.”

            Anshii wanted to ask further, but the set of Dios’ jaw told her he wouldn’t answer. When Utena suggested they open the Rose Gate together, they walked towards it slowly, letting Dios get accustomed to walking as an adult.

            As they came close to the Rose Gate, Dios lifted his hand and the heavy doors swung open. Behind them, the Dueling Platform dissolved into darkness along with the empty glass coffin.

            In the distance, the bells rang joyously.

            Juri looked at her shattered ring, and then looked across the table. “Let’s go.”


	51. Reunion

            As Anshii approached the gates to Ohtori, she saw the group awaiting her. Juri, Miki, Touga, Rika, Izumi, and Keuske were all looking at each other warily. Anshii caught Juri’s eye as she approached, and waved them all onto the school grounds.

            “Everything’s fine. Please… come with me and I’ll explain everything…” Anshii said, leading them towards the Rose Tower.

 

            Inside the Rose Tower, at the summit of the world that was Ohtori, Utena had just finished destroying the projector. “You know, that felt good,” she admitted, surveying her handiwork. Dios had watched the entire thing, offering suggestions where to hit it next. Dinner was being prepared by a singularly stunned staff, and he was still getting used to being in the physical world again.

            Utena turned and looked at him. “I was in love with the idea of you for most of my childhood, you know.”

            He blushed involuntarily, and then chided her gently. “Without even remembering who I was.”

            She blushed in return. “There was that… yes.” She moved to the window and looked down. “She’s found them.”

            Dios walked over and looked over her shoulder. “The one with red hair… Touga. What will you do about him, I wonder, if you’re in love with me…?”

            Utena blushed again. “Um… about that… I was really young… and I didn’t remember you all that well…” It sounded lame, and she knew it.

            Dios burst into laughter. “Utena Tenjou, you are definitely the most female girl I know!!! First you tell a man that you were in love with him when you were a child, and then you try to artfully let him down gently.”

            Her face was turning a splotchy sort of red, and he knew it wasn’t from embarrassment. Laughing still, he hugged her gently. “I’m teasing, Utena. I have to admit, having two little sisters to pester has some merit.”

            She snorted in a rather unladylike fashion, and then they heard the elevator start up. “They’re coming.”

 

            Anshii had explained the basics. She’d told them that Akio had been defeated, and while he had been behind the deaths, he had left the campus almost immediately, and she rather doubted that authorities would find him.

            She hadn’t told them about Utena or Dios.

 

            The elevator doors opened and Anshii whisked everyone into the foyer. “These were once the halls where Akio lived, but now will be inhabited by the new staff. If you’ll come this way…” she led them into the dining room, where serving staff were setting the final touches on the table. “If you’ll all take a seat, there are some people I’d like to introduce to you.”

            The door opened slightly, and the mirror-image of Akio stepped in rather hesitantly. Juri and Touga gasped, Miki simply stared in shock, and Rika flinched. Anshii stood her ground and offered her hand to Dios. “Everyone, this is Akio’s hidden victim. This is my brother, Dios.”

            Juri, Miki and Touga all nodded. They knew who Dios was, and each of them had a fair idea of the inherent truth. But they’d leave that for after the Student Council members left.

            Dios turned and opened the door, reaching out to someone and a slender female with pink hair stepped through the door, wearing a black school uniform. Before Juri and Miki could be certain of her identity, Touga had started towards her. Almost absently, Juri caught his wrist, and her firm grip told him to Stay Put.

            Utena stood there, looking at those who had once been adversaries, those old faces that looked back at her, two with surprise, one with a mixture of relief and love. Finally, after a moment, she allowed Juri a smile.

            And that was all that the other woman needed.

            Juri let go of Touga’s wrist, and he crossed the room in four long strides, catching Utena into a very close embrace. She couldn’t hug back because he’d pinned her arms.

            Dios walked over to his sister and put his hand on her shoulder. Looking to the others in the room, he cleared his throat. “My… twin…” his eyes flickered to Anshii, “Akio… did some rather detestable things while he was here. I’d like to say that I’ll be the one to turn this school around…”

            Shock crept into all eyes, including Utena and Anshii. Utena pulled away from Touga, looking at Dios with her mouth open, as if she was about to speak.

            Dios held up his hand to stay her comments. “But that would be acting too much like Akio… and so I am going to ask all of you to help turn this school into the place it ought to be.”

            Smiles burst across the room, and as the food was brought out, they began talking about what could be done to help.


	52. Homecoming

            It was after the dinner, and the current students were still drafting plans with Dios for the school. Dios had shown an amazing aptitude for assuming roles, and Anshii watched happily.

            Juri touched Anshii on the arm and the dark-skinned girl turned to her. “Yes?”

            “Is that really…? Dios?” She pointed upwards, as if to the castle. “Him?”

            Anshii nodded. “It is. He defeated Akio and took his place. Akio’s gone, Juri. He’ll never hurt anyone again.” Her voice was odd, a little hollow, and Juri frowned at Anshii.

            “Anshii…?”

            She shook her head. “He wasn’t a good person, Juri. All those people paid the price because I shut all of the goodness out of his heart. Kanae… Mariko… their deaths may as well have been caused by my own hands.”

            “Anshii… you can’t be responsible for the actions someone else takes. Regardless of good or evil, Akio made conscious decisions. Don’t vilify yourself. Akio did enough of that for you. You and Utena are both free of him.” Juri spoke quietly, and leaned in to kiss Anshii on the cheek. When Anshii turned in surprise, Juri smiled a little mysterious smile and walked over to meet Miki at the door. “Dios…?” She called back. “Miki and I have early classes tomorrow, so we’ll take our leave. Do join us for lunch tomorrow?”

            Dios looked over and nodded. “I’d like that. Good night, Juri. Miki.”

            The oddest couple in Ohtori walked out into the foyer, and Anshii wondered where another couple had gotten off to. Utena and Touga had slipped away sometime during discussions.

 

            Utena had escaped the dining room after dinner, slipping through the darkened hallways that seemed so familiarly alien to her. She’d walked these halls as herself and as Ayomi… It all seemed like a lifetime ago.

            She wandered into what had been the projection room and leaned against a window. The stars were lovely, and the trees below seemed to sparkle in reply to the twinkle of the stars.

            It was raining.

            “I missed you,” a voice said simply.

            Utena’s shoulders slumped slightly. Touga had followed her. She turned to see him standing there in the doorway, looking lost. She offered him a weak smile, then turned back to look out the window again. “How do you know when a nightmare is finally over?”

            There were footsteps as he approached and brushed a lock of her hair off of her shoulder. “When you meet the prince.” There was a pause. “I’m assuming that Dios is your prince.” His voice was tinged with a light regret, as if he was forcing himself to accept that.

            “Yes…” she said quietly. “He’s the one who saved my life. He showed me someone who needed help when I was little… and I grew up wanting to help her. I just didn’t remember everything.”

            “You were so small in that coffin,” Touga said, surprising her. “And it was raining then too.”

            Utena turned to look at him. “You were there? Why didn’t I see you?” Her eyes narrowed.

            Touga’s eyes were focused on another time as he spoke. “You were asleep in the coffin. People all over town were asking about a missing girl. Saionji and I wondered if you might be the one they were looking for. We left you there to sleep, and I rode my bicycle all the way back from the church to tell someone where you were.”

            Utena shook her head slowly. “Touga… that was all so long ago… I-“ He held up his hand.

            “It was a long time ago. And yet, I just wanted you to know.” His voice was quiet, as if he was afraid to speak too loudly. She heard his footsteps as he turned away. “I… wish you both the best.”

            She turned, as if afraid, and blurted out the words. “Touga… It’s not like that. He… I… no…”

            He looked back at her, not daring to hope. She turned away, mistaking the hidden emotion for something else. “I’m… sorry.” She leaned against the window and looked back out over the trees.

            His footsteps were quiet, and she jumped when his arm came up around her. “I’m sorry too. Forgive me…?”

            She turned around into his embrace.

 

            Any answer that Utena might have given Touga was unheard by the two in the far doorway. Dios looked to Anshii and smiled. “Let’s give them time. We have all the time in the world now.”

            Anshii turned and walked into the open hallway and Dios closed the door quietly behind them.


	53. Commitment

            The first matter of the morning was a School Assembly, in which a great deal of things had to be explained to the students and teachers at large. Anshii sighed, pinning back a stray wisp of hair. Dios, she could see, was pacing nervously back and forth behind the curtain, going over the cards in his hand one last time before he went out to introduce himself.

            Even though they had done their dead-level best to keep Utena’s return a secret, the ever-illustrious Wakaba had managed to discover the truth, and had dragged a reluctant Saionji up to the campus. Anshii could see the girl running into the backstage area, looking for Utena, and went to catch her. “Wakaba… over here…”

            Privately, Anshii was very glad that Wakaba didn’t immediately land on her, but the excitement was evident enough. Saionji looked rather alarmed, glaring daggers at Dios, and Anshii could readily understand why. He hadn’t met her brother. “Dios… would you put those away for a moment and come over?” Anshii called softly.

            Dios turned, looked at the trio and walked over, looking expectantly at Anshii. “Yes, Anshii?”

            Anshii motioned to the two very surprised people. “This is Wakaba Mizuhara and Saionji Kyoichi. Wakaba, Saionji… this is my brother, Dios.”

            Dios gave a little half-bow to the both of them. “I am pleased to meet you. I hope to prove that I am a better man than my twin.”

            “Twin?” Saionji echoed in disbelief, looking at Anshii.

            She shook her head at him. “Not now, Saionji. There’s a luncheon at the Chairman’s office today. I’d like it if you would both attend. All questions will be answered…”

            But Wakaba’s attention was suddenly on someone else. A young woman in black had just emerged from a side room. For a moment, uncertainty washed over Wakaba’s face. She took a hesitant step towards the woman who was approaching, then another. “Utena…?” Wakaba whispered, eyes wide and almost seeming afraid to know the truth.

            Pink hair flipped back and forth as Utena nodded, and suddenly, all the pent-up emotion warring within Wakaba was released in one fell swoop. The hyper-energetic girl landed on Utena and gleefully hugged her as they both sank to the floor.

            Anshii laughed softly, but her mirth was cut short by the chime that was sounding outside. Dios stiffened, and for a moment, Anshii wasn’t certain that he’d actually go out and talk to the assembly. However, as she looked worriedly at him, he smiled. “Go ahead.”

            Hesitantly, she nodded, and then slipped out onto the stage to look at the audience comprised of students and teachers. Over two hundred expectant pairs of eyes looked back at her, and she felt her stomach give a little quiver. She took a deep breath, looked around, and sighed softly. Slowly, she stepped up to the podium and looked at her own notes before looking up and beginning.

            “Thank you, everyone, for your patience and understanding in this difficult time. As most of you know, all of us here at Ohtori have suffered several staggering losses over the past week. It’s been a very tumultuous time for all of us.” Anshii paused, looking around. “I’d like to tell you that we’ll keep going. I’d like to tell you that it will all be the same… but I can’t. It won’t.”

            A surprised murmur rippled through the students assembled. Anshii stepped away from the podium and felt a certainty fall around her. “For a long time, Ohtori Campus was under the shadow of a man who thought that he could control the world. His name was Akio Himemiya… better known as Chairman Akio Ohtori.” She sighed and shook her head. “He did a great many unspeakable things, and I regret to tell you that it wasn’t until yesterday that the full scope of his evil was revealed. He was extraordinarily skilled at deception and manipulation, and thus Mariko and Kanae fell into his hands.”

            Shouts started from various students, and Anshii raised both of her hands in an effort to silence them. “But before we go on… I want to introduce you to another victim of Akio’s treachery.”

            As Dios stepped out from around the curtain, a chilled silence froze the air within the room. Silence fell as hard and fast as if he had poured a bucket of ice water on everyone.

            “This is my brother. His name is Dios Himemiya.”


	54. Shock

            Dios looked around at the students and faculty, sad green eyes taking in the open hostility and anger. He hadn’t expected anything better, but the stark reality of what Akio had been had never hurt him more. He cleared his throat and offered a feeble smile to Anshii. “Thank you, Anshii.”

            He turned back to the assembly and sighed. “I understand that my appearance is somewhat… unsettling. But, as my sister told you only moments ago, I am not Akio. I am Dios Himemiya… Akio’s… twin.” Seeing no change in the eyes that watched him, he shook his head. “You know… I had written a whole speech on these note cards…” he held up the three by five cards and waved them in the air. “But speeches aren’t what you need right now. You’ve had a lot happen. You’ve had things happen to you that you probably don’t even know about. And you deserve answers. Not canned responses that were written in advance.”

            To almost everyone’s shock, he handed Anshii the note cards and sat on the edge of the stage, feet hanging over the edge. “So let me tell you what I know… and then I’ll open the floor for you to ask me questions. The only thing I ask is that you be orderly about it, take turns, and wait for someone to call you up.” He half turned to glance behind the stage. “Would you three mind giving me a hand?”

            Juri, Miki and Touga moved out from behind the curtain and then down the side steps, working their ways into the seated students. As Dios spoke, he watched the students for reactions.

            “This is probably going to come across to most of you as something out of a movie. If I hadn’t lived it, I know that I’d feel the same way. My brother Akio was as divisive and subversive as they come. There is absolutely no excuse for what he’s been doing here at Ohtori.”

            “For the past several years, Akio has been behind the Student Council, orchestrating their movements within the school. Those rings with the Ohtori Rose on them were symbols of his power. He constructed a secret society here in the campus, a select set of students skilled with a sword, made them the members of the Student Council. With them, he could control the student body. He made them duel for the promise of great power. But all he delivered was pain.”

 

            Anshii kept her face carefully straight. She couldn’t reveal anything, couldn’t show any emotion. Not yet. She’d show them if she had to, she’d call forth everything if it came down to it. But she waited. She’d see what was neededto convince them.

 

            Dios paused, looking around. After a moment, when he saw that no-one looked as if they had a question, he continued. “I was locked away against my will, and if Anshii had gone against his wishes, it was my life that would be at risk. And so it stayed that way for a great many years. Akio dated, and eventually married Kanae simply to gain power within the school. Once he was in power, there seemed to be no hope for anything. I gave up hope as the school that I had loved grew more and more corrupt by the day.”

            “And then, one day, Akio met his match. A student came to the school that Akio couldn’t corrupt. He tried repeatedly, even forcing Anshii to befriend her, to hurt her in ways that were unimaginable. At one point, he told Anshii to kill her, because she couldn’t be corrupted.”

           Gasps rippled through the room, and Anshii looked down at her hands even as Dios continued. “Anshii didn’t kill her. Injured her, yes. But, she didn’t kill her. Injured, the student found me and I protected her until she was strong enough to stand on her own once more.”

 

            Backstage, Utena had frozen in place, causing Wakaba to look at her friend in confusion. “Utena…?”

            “I… Wakaba… they have to know,” Utena whispered faintly. “For anyone to understand, they have to know the extent of Akio’s evil.”

            Wakaba didn’t understand. “Utena? What are you saying?”

            To Wakaba’s utter surprise, it seemed as if Utena’s uniform shifted, a short white skirt rippling over her red shorts, a golden chain shimmering as she squared her shoulders and turned to walk out onto the stage. “I’m the one that Akio couldn’t corrupt.”

 

            Still backstage and unseen, Wakaba sank to her knees and started to cry.


	55. Realizations

            The silence that had filled the room was shattered as Utena stepped out onto the stage. Dios turned to see her and climbed back onto his feet on the stage, reaching his hand out to her as she walked up to the front of the stage and looked out at her fellow classmates. Ever the gentleman, when Utena’s hand met his, Dios brought it to his lips, brushed her knuckles with a kiss, and turned back to the students.

            “Utena was the student that Akio couldn’t break. Oh, he tried. He threw one thing after another at her. But she didn’t yield. And here we are.”

            A murmur had risen, but after a few moments, subsided. Anshii took the opportunity to step forward and look at those assembled. “If anyone has any questions, we have an hour now, so raise your hands, or you can come by the Chairman’s Office at any time. Members of the old Student Council are to meet with Chairman Himemiya in the Rose Tower for a luncheon today. Past members are also encouraged to attend.”

            As Anshii spoke, she watched several students raise their hands, and saw various faculty members moving to collect them into a line.

            Utena perched herself on the edge of the stage, a little distance away from Dios, looking for all the world as if she didn’t want to be there. After seeing things start to move smoothly, Anshii crossed the stage and bent over to speak to Utena. “I’m going back to start preparing for the luncheon if you and Wakaba would like to join me.”

            Straightening up, Anshii wondered if she needed to tell Dios, but saw that he had slipped off of the stage now, deeply engrossed in a student’s concerns, and smiled to herself before departing.

 

            Anshii patted Wakaba on the shoulder as she walked past the girl, and then headed out into the bright sunlight. Her path took her past the Rose Garden, and she sighed softly, looking within it. The roses, once beautiful and bright were now drab, dying. Dios’ magic had been keeping them alive, and now that he was freed, the roses were withering.

            “The roses are dying…” Wakaba said quietly as she and Utena walked up to the gazebo.

            Anshii turned to look at them. “They aren’t needed anymore.” At the confusion on Wakaba’s face, she smiled. “I’ll explain as we go.”

 

            By the time they had made it to the elevator, Wakaba was certain that Anshii had taken total leave of her senses. As the elevator doors closed behind the three girls, Wakaba shook her head. “Anshii… none of that makes sense.Princes and Princesses and witches are all fairy tales.”

            Anshii looked quietly at Utena for a moment, and then made up her mind. She clasped her hands together over her own heart and whispered the old words. “Roses of the noble castle, heed my call.”

Something swept past Wakaba, something that felt like wind but wasn’t. As she watched in astonishment, Anshii’s white shirt and dark pants shifted, changing into something resembling a red sundress. Her long purple ponytail fell apart, her hair cascading around her.

Sad and older seeming green eyes looked at Wakaba, and a smile drifted across dark lips. “You see, Wakaba, I’m the witch. I was the one who caused all of this.”

            “Stop that,” Utena glowered at Anshii. “You didn’t cause all of it. You didn’t have anything to do with the Society of the Black Rose, or those false signets they wore. Anshii… just because you did one thing… you aren’t the reason that everything went wrong.”

            Anshii looked at Utena, and then to Wakaba. “But I sealed him away…”

            Wakaba folded her arms. “I don’t have a good idea of what really happened… but if all you did was seal Dios, then how could you be responsible for Akio’s actions? It seems to me that they were two different people.”

            Utena nodded in agreement with what Wakaba was saying. “If anything, the one responsible for Akio’s actions and yours was Akio himself.”

            Anshii sighed as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. “I still feel somewhat responsible.”

            Utena stepped through the doors and held them open for Anshii and Wakaba. “Tell you what, Anshii. You ask Dios. Ask him who he holds responsible.”

            Anshii wasn’t sure that she wanted to do that. She had a suspicion how he would answer… and she wasn’t ready to face that thought yet.


	56. Closure

            Rika sat in the assembly hall, watching Dios. To her right, Izumi was speaking quietly to Keuseke. She looked down, checking her watch, and then she rose to her feet. “It will be lunch shortly… they’ll keep asking him things all day if he lets them.”

            Izumi and Keuseke looked over to see Dios animatedly describing something to a student, hands busy illustrating in the air whatever it was they were discussing. Shaking his head, Izumi stood to join Rika. “We should we go remind him of his luncheon. It looks like he’ll entertain them all day if we don’t.”

            As the trio moved towards Dios, however, he looked over and smiled to them. “Ah, just in time. It wouldn’t do to miss the luncheon, would it? Anshii would never forgive me.” He looked across the room, nodding to Juri, and then turned away as the Fencing Instructor’s voice rang out clearly across the room.

            “Thank you, everyone. The lunch hall will be open shortly. If you did not have a chance to speak with Chairman Himemiya, his office will be open after lunch.

 

            Lunch was a quietly subdued affair, just as dinner had the night before. Eventually, Juri sighed and took it upon herself to break the silence. “Dios… what really happened to Akio?”

            Dios set his fork down on his plate and looked across the table to the golden-haired woman. “There are places still in this world where what is known as magic still exists. Ohtori is one of those few places; all of you have seen it. Magic exists where there is childlike innocence and love. As we grow, we move past that, growing into adulthood and leaving the magic of our youth behind for the next generation. Sometimes, people try to take that magic by force and make it grow with them. The force twists, turning into something other than what it was intended to be.”

            Several people weren’t certain where Dios was headed with this, but they continued to eat, listening to his words.

            “Akio tried to take the magic of youth and turn it into power. He tried to corrupt the innocence and use it to his own gain. When I defeated him in the Duel, I showed him that. He had no choice but to move on. And when he did, I took his place back in this world. Eventually, we will all move on into the adult world and leave the magic of Ohtori for the next generation.”

            “So… is Akio…?” Miki started, but couldn’t bring himself to finish the question.

            Anshii’s green eyes cast across to him and she smiled faintly. “Akio will never hurt anyone again. The Law of the Roses has seen to that.”

            Dios nodded and returned to his dessert.

            Saionji looked skeptical, frowning as he looked at Dios. “But you… you’re as old as Akio, if you are his twin. Why haven’t you left this world?”

            Akio’s smile was an echo of Anshii’s. “Because I haven’t grown up. I’m still a little boy at heart.”

 

            The luncheon was officially over, but Juri, Miki, and Touga had hung back to remain for a little while after the others had departed. Utena and Anshii saw those who were leaving to the elevator, and then met back up with the others in the old projector room at the top of the tower.

            Dios leaned against the window and sighed. “Akio is gone, yes. I couldn’t tell the others the precise reasoning behind how I know. But all of you know better than to think that I am his twin. Simply put, I replaced him. When I defeated him in the Final Duel, his psyche shattered. What you knew as Akio is no longer. At Anshii and Utena’s insistence, I… returned to the world that I was sent away from all those years ago.”

            Juri nodded thoughtfully, looking at Utena. “And what of Ayomi?”

            Utena’s cheeks flushed pink and she looked back at Juri. But before she could answer, Dios smiled thoughtfully. “Ayomi is Utena, Juri. When Utena took Anshii’s place, she did what she had to do in order to protect both herself and Anshii. She drew on my powers, and became Ayomi. Now, like me, she is free to be herself again.”

            A querulous look crossed Utena’s blue eyes, but she smiled at Juri and Dios, the curve of her lips reminiscent of Ayomi’s smiles.

            Anshii turned away, looking out of the windows. She wasn’t entirely certain that was what had happened, but it was the most straightforward explanation she had heard of herself.


	57. Epilogue and Author's Notes

            It was difficult to say what exactly had been more difficult for Anshii and Utena to work through. But it had been several weeks since Akio had been defeated, and though they had been friendly that night with Dios and everyone else, neither girl had spoken to the other since.

            The uneasy silence and tension was killing Anshii, and finally, Anshii walked into the room where Utena sat staring out into space. After a moment, Anshi began to speak. “I did some unspeakable things… and I wanted you to know that I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you…” She took a breath and sighed. “If you don’t want me to interact with you, I’ll understand. I can move into Kanae’s floor…”

            Utena had risen to her feet. Anshii lowered her head and closed her eyes. She decided that she’d call the building overseer and have Kanae’s floor reopened today. And then, maybe she’d run out and check on her shops. The numbers had been rising steadily, and maybe the second shop was gaining a foothold in the community she’d built it in…

            A hand was on her shoulder. Anshii opened her eyes and looked up to see Utena smiling at her. “I’ll forgive you if you forgive me. There’s been so much that’s happened. And someday, together…”

            “Someday together?” Anshii echoed, her heart skipping a beat.

            Utena shook her head. “No… now, together.”

 

_Shine with me._

 

_\------------------------_

Reflections

Author’s Thoughts And Comments, 12 April 2004:

 

            Up until chapter 26 of this story, Slayers True had the odd distinction of being the longest story I had written in fanfiction.  ~~Rounding off at 52 chapters not including prologue and epilogue, I now have twice the length invested in Scarlet.~~

            Standing currently at 56 chapters, not including prologue and epilogue, what a saga it became!

 

            When I watched Revolutionary Girl Utena for the first time, it was a fansub, and the video at times was poor, the subtitling even worse.

            But it drew me in, the plot and intrigue rapidly becoming addictive and I kept watching, irregardless of quality.

            I got to episode 38. I watched it. My brain reeled. It didn’t make sense. When I started episode 39… it was subtitled in Korean. My Japanese was miserable, and I couldn’t read a bit of Korean… but I watched it anyway.

 

            I was lost. I had no freaking idea what had just happened, only that the entire series had just planted me on my ear.

            I had to find episode 39 subtitled in English.

 

            It took two weeks.

            Two weeks my brain processed and re-processed the events in episode 39. I kept coming up with nothing useful.

            And then I watched it subtitled in English.

            For as dark as the series was, it ended on a high. It ended with hope instead of broken despair. It lifted you out of the shock and left you with the idea that things might work out.

 

            And then, in a flash of… something… I saw a scene in my brain. It was definitive, Akio in a duel against Anshii. Anshii had lost the sword, and was at Akio’s mercy. I saw the Rose Bride looking awfully like Utena screaming for Himemiya and throwing herself into the disarmed duelist, Sword of Dios in hand.

 

            And that impossibly short scene sat in the back of my head for over a year.

 

            Other series came and went, Automatic Maiden Mahoro (Mahoromatic) and Chobits. I wrote some other Slayers stories, and one day, stumbled back across the notes that I had scribbled in relation to the scene that I had seen so clearly detailed in my mind.

            Revolutionary Girl Utena, huh?

            But how on earth was I going to get the story there?

 

            Truth to tell, I’m still not sure how I came up with the opening scene… how I crafted the prologue where Anshii receives the ring from Akio. Her arrival at Ohtori, the interaction with the old students turned faculty… it all seemed to flow.

            In truth, when I had started this, back in early 2002, I envisioned Akio being the force behind everything. I had imagined that at the very last moment, Akio had swept Utena off, and she had given up. I’d thought that she hadn’t fought him when he’d done whatever he had to do to make her the new Rose Bride.

            Boy was I wrong.

 

            The story that unfolded under my fingertips was vastly different from the one that I had envisioned. Utena herself had chosen to become the Rose Bride in Anshii’s stead, taking the pain and the despair into her own heart and soul in order to protect her friend. It was, as she saw it, the only thing that she could do. She’d failed at becoming the prince, so she would take Anshii’s place.

            That single noble act resulted in Dios not being destroyed. The pure nobility provided the chance that Utena and Dios both needed to remain within the world: Ayomi.

            Noble of heart and gentle of soul, Ayomi Himebara was created, a split and separate personality from Utena. Unaware of who and what she was, but suspecting the truth, Akio invents a history for her and enrolls her in the school. When she reveals herself capable of acting as the Rose Bride, he begins the Duels again.

            Ayomi is perfectly content to be the Rose Bride. After all, she is separate and doesn’t know the pain and anguish held away from her by Utena.

            While Utena is strong enough to contain the pain, she isn’t strong enough to hold the pain away and manage to contact Anshii, and so when she attempts to break through enough, Ayomi feels the pain and doesn’t understand. She has no memory of her life as Utena, and so the pain (which is manifested within the scar on her side) is confusing.

            Little by little, however, Anshii and Ayomi begin to grasp at the reality and Ayomi begins to dream, to interact, to reach across that bridge within herself and try to discover who she truly is.

            At first, Utena rejects her. Ayomi is completely functional by herself, and she doesn’t need the pain. But Ayomi persists, and starts to break the barriers between herself and Utena.

            At length, she encounters Utena herself, who is presented within the coffin, a nod to her past where she tried to escape from the world. But this time, she is the adult, and convinced that if she remains in the coffin, it will protect Anshii.

            Dios intervenes, explaining the history to Ayomi, as this aspect of Self doesn’t know, doesn’t remember. And yet, he doesn’t identify himself or her.

            Ayomi pieces things together and ends up confronting Anshii about it, which results in even more of the barriers between Ayomi and Utena shattering.

            But the true crisis doesn’t happen until Ayomi’s psyche creates a nightmare from the leaking memories of Utena and Akio’s evil begins to taint the world again. After some real shocker scenes, two seemingly innocent deaths that have darker undertones, Anshii challenges Akio, it is her right as Dueling Champion.

            And so, after an amazing amount of storytelling, I arrive at the scene that I saw in my head so long ago. In the duel, Anshii is disarmed by Akio. The Sword of Dios flies across the floor to land at Ayomi’s feet. Ayomi reaches down and picks it up, looking over to see Anshii in desperate trouble. Akio’s sword is bearing down on Anshii.

            Ayomi’s terror shatters the barrier, and she finds herself back in the church beside the coffin. Again, Utena refuses, replying that as long as she remains in the coffin, everything will be fine.

            Ayomi’s fear and nobility ultimately force Utena to see the reality: Akio was about to kill Anshii.

            In that moment of clarity, Ayomi simply ceases to exist as Utena bolts for Anshii, screaming out her name and blocking Akio’s sword only barely in time.

            But neither girl is the one to Duel with Akio. Utena throws the Sword of Dios high into the air, and the last person Akio ever expects to encounter takes up the sword against him: Dios himself.

            The duel is short, Dios makes quick work of it, and we have a retrospect moment where we see some past events, and then Akio is gone.

            After some persuasion, Dios takes Akio’s place as a twin brother, and the world of Ohtori starts with a new hope.

            There are some reunions, and at length, an apology and a promise. But you know that.


End file.
